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Asia’s future prosperity requires a major change in energy use
April 10, 2013
Asia’s future prosperity requires a major change in energy use
Asia is moving along a dangerously unsustainable energy path that will result in environmental disaster and a gaping divide in energy access between rich and poor unless the region dramatically changes course, says a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report.
Asia’s Energy Challenge, the special theme chapter in ADB’s Asian Development Outlook 2913, highlights the complex balancing act the region faces to deliver energy to all its citizens while scaling back its reliance on fossil fuels. If by 2035 Asia merely expands energy access without fundamentally changing the way it consumes, the report predicts the region’s oil consumption will double, natural gas consumption will triple, and coal consumption will rise a whopping 81 percent, with costly and devastating environmental impacts.
Asia’s limited indigenous energy resources present an additional challenge. With only 9 percent of proven global oil reserves, the region is currently on track to almost triple oil imports by 2035, rendering it significantly more vulnerable to external supply shocks.
Carefully designed support for renewable energy technologies must be stepped up. Next generation wind, solar and biofuel technologies, which are expected to be more cost competitive than current options and do not compete with food crops, offer potential solutions.
Read more at CleanBiz Asia.
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