Massive rise in Asia fuel imports predicted
Asia’s voracious demand for power will force greater amounts of fuel imports in the decades to come, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report has revealed.
By 2035, the region’s share of global primary energy consumption will reach 56 per cent, marking a dramatic shift from the 34 per cent share recorded in 2010, the report said.
Burgeoning populations and new pockets of wealth will continue to press energy demand, especially in ASEAN, where the Philippines and Indonesia are among the largest and fastest growing populations in the world. According to the ADB report, this trend will mean that most Asian nations will be producing only about half of their energy need.
As a solution to the frightening prospects, the ADB has encouraged upped investment in end-user energy efficiency “through public and private sector partnership, with ADB taking a lead role in providing customized policy advisory services, technical assistance, and innovative financing support in developing member countries,” said Bindu N. Lohani, ADB’s Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development.
ADB has been expanding investment in clean energy, including in renewable energy and energy efficiency, providing $2.3 billion in financing in 2012, the bank said in a release to the media.
However, harmful subsidies that skew the cost of energy on the environment has yet to be directly addressed, often a politically charged issue in ASEAN where all but the Philippines rely on the government’s support.
In 2013, the ADB invested more than $970 million in energy efficiency projects.
Greater investment into such projects, which includes households and manufacturing plants, could free up power supplies for an estimated 628 million people in the region.
Asia’s voracious demand for power will force greater amounts of fuel imports in the decades to come, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report has revealed. By 2035, the region’s share of global primary energy consumption will reach 56 per cent, marking a dramatic shift from the 34 per cent share recorded in 2010, the report said. Burgeoning populations and new pockets of wealth will continue to press energy demand, especially in ASEAN, where the Philippines and Indonesia are among the largest and fastest growing populations in the world. According to the ADB report, this trend will mean that most Asian...
Asia’s voracious demand for power will force greater amounts of fuel imports in the decades to come, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report has revealed.
By 2035, the region’s share of global primary energy consumption will reach 56 per cent, marking a dramatic shift from the 34 per cent share recorded in 2010, the report said.
Burgeoning populations and new pockets of wealth will continue to press energy demand, especially in ASEAN, where the Philippines and Indonesia are among the largest and fastest growing populations in the world. According to the ADB report, this trend will mean that most Asian nations will be producing only about half of their energy need.
As a solution to the frightening prospects, the ADB has encouraged upped investment in end-user energy efficiency “through public and private sector partnership, with ADB taking a lead role in providing customized policy advisory services, technical assistance, and innovative financing support in developing member countries,” said Bindu N. Lohani, ADB’s Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development.
ADB has been expanding investment in clean energy, including in renewable energy and energy efficiency, providing $2.3 billion in financing in 2012, the bank said in a release to the media.
However, harmful subsidies that skew the cost of energy on the environment has yet to be directly addressed, often a politically charged issue in ASEAN where all but the Philippines rely on the government’s support.
In 2013, the ADB invested more than $970 million in energy efficiency projects.
Greater investment into such projects, which includes households and manufacturing plants, could free up power supplies for an estimated 628 million people in the region.
