Energy crisis threatens Asia - ADB
Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:12 GMT
A worker cleans solar panels on the rooftop of the Yiwu International Trade City in Yiwu, Zhejiang province May 20, 2011. REUTERS/Stringer
By Thin Lei Win
BANGKOK (AlertNet) – Rising energy demands could lead to an energy crisis in Asia, resulting in increased poverty and climate change threats if nations do not improve energy security, the president of Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the sixth Asia Clean Energy Forum in Manila, the Philippines’ capital, Haruhiko Kuroda called on countries in the region to take “radical steps” to invest in renewable energy and increase energy efficiency.
Strong economic growth combined with a growing and rapidly urbanising population are generating the world’s fastest growing demand for energy, ADB said in a statement.
Currently, around 800 million people still lack access to electricity in Asia, the bank said, estimating energy needs will double by 2030.
Poor energy security could reverse gains made in reducing the number of poor people – Asia Pacific halved extreme poverty from 49 percent to 25 percent between 1990 and 2005 – and encourage reliance on fossil fuels that increase the threats of climate change.
“Asians have more to lose from climate change than any other people. The climate fight will be won or lost by decisions made in this region,” said Kuroda.
“An important key to lowering energy intensity is the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies and the transition to renewable energy. Asia must also take radical steps to increase energy efficiency.”
The United Nations’ State of Asian Cities 2010/2011 report said that in 2006 over 80 percent of the region’s total primary energy supply was made of fossil fuels, including coal, while less than 0.25 percent came from geothermal or other new and renewable energy sources.
The report, which urges new approaches to make Asian cities sustainable and resilient to climate change impacts, underlined that the energy demands of urban areas are major contributors to greenhouse gases.
According to ADB, nearly 1.8 billion people in Asia still rely on traditional biomass fuels to meet their cooking and heating needs while an estimated 1.5 million people, mostly women and children, die every year because of the indoor air pollution from the use of biomass fuel.
The bank says a “significant push is needed to fast-track new business models and policies for clean energy development,” in order to meet the rising demands and to curb the impacts of climate change.
(Editing by Rebekah Curtis)
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