News and Events

News Brief

Email this page   Print this page

BANGKOK, THAILAND - A panel of experts will be convened in August to guide the preparation of an environmentally sensitive energy strategy for the Mekong region, a workshop heard today.

The panel will comprise renowned energy and environment experts, Rita Nangia, a Director in ADB's Southeast Asia Department, told the first in a series of regional and national consultations on the subregion's future energy needs that kicked off today.

ADB in partnership with the six GMS countries – Cambodia, People's Republic of China, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam – has initiated a comprehensive study to define a regional energy strategy that will ensure efficient and affordable access to modern energy services for all.

In opening the workshop, Rajat Nag, Director General of ADB's Southeast Asia Department, told participants that the regional energy strategy must take into account the diverse needs of the GMS economies and underlined the importance of addressing environmental concerns in the energy strategy.

“Energy is fundamental to economic development and poverty reduction but, to ensure lasting benefits to all, it should be supplied and used in a sustainable manner,” he said. “The study should therefore identify strategies that strike the proper balance between these concerns.”

Mr. Nag, who is also Special Advisor to the President on Regional Cooperation, also noted that in meeting this challenge, "regional cooperation and integration will be essential.” He cited the economic rationale for this thrust and expressed hope that the study will be able to demonstrate the benefits of regional energy markets.

“On another front, environmental concerns associated with energy development are of common interest and therefore must be managed jointly and mainstreamed into the energy strategy,” he said. The same point was echoed by Mr. Porametee Vimolosiri, Senior Advisor in Policy and Planning, National Economic and Social Development Board, Thailand, in his welcome remarks.

“We can make energy development more sustainable,” said Mohan Munasinghe, a leading expert in energy and environment and Vice Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in his keynote address. “Let’s do it now and not wait for tomorrow.”

The First Planning and Consultation Workshop on the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Energy Sector Strategy was attended by about 70 senior government officials, policymakers, academics, and representatives from civil society, development agencies, and the private sector.

Featuring in a roundtable discussion were Tariq Banuri, Director, Stockholm Environment Institute, who emphasized that sustainable development needs a credible independent research community, and Donald Dreier, GE Asia Marketing Leader, who pointed out that renewable options require policy and institutional support to compete better with conventional energy sources. Xaypaseuth Phomsoupha, Chief, Bureau of the Secretariat, Lao National Committee for Energy, said that hydro is an option to achieve cheaper and affordable energy in the GMS.

About ADB