39th Annual Meeting

Sustainable Energy Development in Asia: The Next Frontier

6 May 2006 (2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.)

In modern times, no country has managed to substantially reduce poverty without greatly increasing the use of energy. Energy reduces poverty by boosting poor people’s productivity and thus their income. By powering lights and modern equipment, electricity helps improve health care and education for poor people. There is no question about energy’s benefits, but bringing modern energy services to the poor is an enormous challenge. Furthermore, the environmental impacts of conventional energy and traditional fuels are unsustainable at both local and global levels. Access to adequate, affordable and sustainable energy is a key ingredient to help countries meet the Millennium Development Goals. Even with $8 trillion in energy investments over the next 25 years, 1.4 billion people will still lack access to modern lighting and power. At the same time climate change concerns drive moves toward sustainable energy.

The speakers in the seminar will discuss:

• the potential and risks involved in meeting the energy needs of Asia to satisfy consumer demands, fuel economic growth, and bring modern energy services to the poor in a locally and globally sustainable manner;
the role of different agents involved in this process—the government, the producers and consumers and the development community, particularly ADB; and
policy and technological options along with success stories at country, regional, and global levels.

Read the News Release.

Contact Us

For further information, contact Mr. Diwesh Sharan, tel: (63-2) 632-5248, email:dsharan@adb.org