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Energy for All, Bar None
Launch of the Energy for All Partnership

Remarks by
Ursula Schäfer-Preuss
Vice President, Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development
Asian Development Bank

At the The Asia Clean Energy Forum 2009

17 June 2009
ADB Headquarters, Mandaluyong City

Good afternoon. Good day once again. During this week, ADB is very pleased to host a high-level dialogue among key policy makers and engage in active discussions with many of the region’s best experts to develop practical solutions in response to the twin challenges of climate and energy security.

I am particularly proud to announce the formation of a new partnership. Public agencies, the private sector and development bodies have united their efforts, with a target of providing access to energy for 100 million people by 2015 through clean, modern sources. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of ADB, I am very pleased to launch the “Energy for All Partnership”.

The “Energy for All Partnership”, is the outcome of extensive stakeholder consultation on how to rapidly scale up access to energy at the regional level. Wide ranging efforts to provide energy services for inclusive economic growth are a pillar in ADB’s fight against poverty, in our response to climate change, and are reaffirmed in ADB’s proposed Energy Policy.

Need for Energy for All Partnership

Ladies and Gentlemen: our experience has shown that in the absence of modern energy services represent a significant barrier against poverty alleviation. Various studies on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) reveal that these goals cannot be met without also increasing access to energy. The immediate benefits are obvious – light and heat. Of course, a child in the rural areas can study late into the night by lit candle or kerosene lamp. A diesel generator can pump up ground water for the use of the community, just as food can be cooked over an open flame. But there are better ways to do this, smarter ways that utilize clean energy and renewable sources to reduce the burden on the poor, while meeting their needs.

The burning of biomass, such as wood, charcoal or animal dung or even garbage, is still the way millions of people in Asia and the Pacific cook their meals and heat their homes. Biomass first needs to be collected, a task that frequently takes up long hours of the day. When these materials are burned, the smoke they produce affects the lungs of poor people, primarily women and children who tend the household. The combined effect of millions of these fires pumps CO2 and black carbon into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.

There are many ways to address this situation through technology we have at hand. For instance, we know that solar energy – or solar cells for electricity – can provide light and heat, biogas can power cook stoves and clean stoves can reduce smoke. We are all aware of these solutions, and know that they have been successfully implemented in rural communities across the region.

The Partnership's Operations

The Partnership’s work is to identify these successful projects and scale them up to a level where they are bankable and can thus benefit from the funding that will transform local success stories into region wide projects.

The core of this Partnership will be the Working Groups, formed in response to key geographic, technological or thematic challenges in scaling up projects. The initial phase of these working groups, that will be supported by the Partnership, covers the topics of biogas, solar lanterns, energy enterprise development, financing, liquid petroleum gas (more commonly known as LPG) and a working group focusing on the unique challenges associated with increasing access to energy in the Pacific region.

Invitation to this Partnership is open to all – practitioners, developers, investors, technology providers and communities alike. Our vision is that the Partnership will provide a platform for partners to collaborate, exchange information and gain access to resources and expertise. Successful endeavors—whether an organization, a model or an approach-- will be highlighted to inspire greater initiatives.

ADB’s forthcoming Energy Policy has also pledged our support to place a special focus on the energy needs of communities located in remote areas that are less likely to be connected to the electricity grid in the near future. The Partnership’s targets are these distant communities dotting the region’s rural spaces, and supporting their gains in access leads to an excellent chance to get clean energy technology in place, on the ground.

Partnership's Steering Committee

ADB has pledged its support to the Partnership’s Secretariat for the next two years, after which we hope the Partnership will have grown into a self sustaining entity. We are also part of the steering committee, providing guidance, alongside our development partners.

Let me acknowledge the members of our steering committee who are with us today, in alphabetical order:

• e8: The e8 is a non-profit international organization, composed of 10 leading electricity companies from the G8 countries, whose mission is to play an active role in global electricity issues within the international framework.
• E+Co (E and Co.): E+Co supports access energy via energy businesses that have a positive social and environmental impact while generating financial returns.
• Global Village Energy Partnership International: GVEP International is a UK charity working to reduce poverty by accelerating access to affordable and sustainable energy services.
• National Electrification Administration of the Philippines: The National Electrification Administration of the Philippines is a government-owned corporation which acts as the prime mover in Philippine's rural electrification sector.
• ReEx Capital Asia: ReEx Capital Asia is an investment banking boutique based in Singapore, aims to bridge the value chain gap by aiding entrepreneurs in connecting with viable clean energy projects.
• Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership: The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership is a global partnership that works to reduce the barriers within policy, regulatory and financial structures that limit the up take of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies and projects.
• SNV Netherlands Development Organization: SNV strengthens the capacity of local organizations towards the realization of poverty reduction and good governance.
• Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore: The Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore provides a common platform for companies to meet with financial institutions to collaborate on viable projects together in pursuit of sustainable growth.
• TERI, The Energy and Resources Institute, with its focus on energy and resources is now trying to actively improve energy management, and to develop environment-friendly technologies and solutions.
• World Business Council on Sustainable Development: The World Business Council for Sustainable Development is a global association of some 200 companies dealing exclusively with business and sustainable development.

Conclusions

Ladies and Gentlemen: thank you again for your partnership and support. The Energy for All Partnership is privileged to have such support, and we have the highest hopes of meeting our target of an additional 100 million people energized for development. Thank you very much again.