Asia Clean Energy Forum 2009

Closing Remarks by
Bindu Lohani
Vice President Finance and Administration
Asian Development Bank

19 June 2009
ADB Headquarters, Manila Philippines

To our distinguished speakers, our participants, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon to you all.

Introduction

• Discussions during this Climate and Clean Energy Week underlined the fact that the developing world is the focal point in the fight against climate change, and that this battle will be won - or lost - in Asia and the Pacific.
• Developing nations are expected to "lead by example" in the climate change fight by committing to renewable energy and energy efficiency and transitioning to low carbon economies.
• The science and economics of climate change do not advocate an abandonment of growth or a backsliding return to poverty. What is sought is a transformation of how growth is pursued.

Highlights of Discussion Tracks

• Between this years Forum and last year's, we can see there is greater optimism on the viability of renewable energy due to such things as feed in tariffs, private sector willingness and experience and understanding of the investment risk involved.
• Another change since last year, ADB has made clean energy a high priority investment, this is reflected in its pledge to increase its loans to $2 billion by 2013 as well as the newly approved Energy Policy.
• Under the policy, the Bank will prioritize and broaden its efforts to support renewable power and energy efficiency improvements in as many sectors and in as many ways as possible.

Discussion Track 1 and 2: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, combined as "Clean Energy"

General:

• There are three things that would lead to financing solutions for clean energy. First, there should be access to the technology. Second, a policy framework should be in place that would make the technology viable. From these two, the third aspect (capital) could easily follow. There is a need to ease administrative barriers and promote grid access for clean energy, as the current rules in place were designed to apply only to conventional power sources. We should not be fixated on specific technologies, but rather make sure that the enabling policies are in place - with key policies integrated into each project. There is a call for good governance and specifically in transparency by including civil society organizations in the development of these policies.

Specific to Renewable Energy:

• Policy development must seek to include administrative support for Renewable Energy Systems, just as it supports incentives for their development.

Specific to Energy Efficiency:

• The key activity related to Energy Efficiency is massively scaling it up - such as the nationwide distribution of CFLs in the Philippines.
• Governments have started to announce the scheduled ban or phase-out of incandescent bulbs from their markets. The Government of the Philippines is "washing out" inefficient lighting products from the marketplace.

Discussion Track 3: Sustainable Cities and Transport

• This topic will draw more and more attention as Asia-Pacific's urban areas grow - and it deserves that attention as we are progressing towards an urbanized world.
• Cities reflect issues of energy efficiency and renewable energy in microcosm - or macrocosm given the size and continuing growth of some of Asia's megacities.
• Local land use and transportation patterns will directly influence whether people and businesses will have mobility choices that allow them to save energy and money.
• Building construction and energy efficiency will be addressed through zoning codes, building codes and the permitting process and municipalities can encourage building designs that save energy and resources.
• Municipal economic development initiatives are opportunities to encourage development in low-energy, zero-carbon directions, by both incentive and example.

Discussion Track 4: Energy for All

General:

• The full benefits of clean energy can only truly be accessed by mobilizing the end users, especially if they are a rural community. Equitable development calls for an investment in social capital to develop a sense of ownership and responsibility, which will allow for continued sustainable practice, as it becomes clear to end-users that besides gaining energy, they are also safeguarding their homes and environment through the use of clean energy sources. Financially sustainable business is required to provide access, the investment must be designed to leverage commercial capital to be used efficiently because there is not enough development capital in the world.

Specific to the Energy for All Partnership:

• We are gratified by the positive reaction to the Energy for All Partnership which was formally launched on Wednesday. This reaction exceeded our expectations.
• The target of the Energy for All Partnership is to provide an additional 100 million people with access to clean, modern energy by 2015.
• A criticism came from Dr. Pachauri of TERI, who stated during a meeting on Wednesday that this target should be met much sooner than 2015. ADB will strive to make this a reality.

Adaptation

• Looking forward, adaptation is a very important issue, as the amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere are already causing shifts in the climate - the effects are being felt now and will be felt in the future.
• By this time next year, ADB will be reporting on its activities in supporting adaptation plans throughout the Asia-Pacific. ADB is strengthening its own capacity to take on issues of adaptation, and we predict that it will be a hot topic at next year's forum.

Conclusion and Thanks

• I would like to end by thanking all of the participants who came from far and wide to be a part of this Forum and share in these discussions. It shows your commitment and interest to clean energy.
• The very first Asia Clean Energy Forum was attended by some 80 participants. This year we have 800 registered participants.
• ADB set out to make this "The Forum" on Clean Energy in Asia and the Pacific, and by all accounts, it has succeeded.
• This could not have been possible without the support of our co-organizer, the United States Agency for International Development - USAID.
• I would like to thank our co-sponsors for this event:
• The Australian Government and AusAid.
• The Government of Japan.
• The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• The Government of Spain
• The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA)
• And of course, thanks to the team from the Asian Development Bank that made this possible. Though too many to mention individually, let me thank the Departments under Vice President Ursula Schaefer-Preuss and Director General Xianbin Yao were the focal point for this Forum, and the Office of Administrative Staff under their Principal Director, C.R. Rajendran without whose help this Forum would not have progressed so smoothly.
• Special thanks must be made to our organization and logistics team from Koelnmesse.
• Again, I thank everyone who contributed to the Forum.
• Let me close by saying that the future of the region depend upon a concerted response from all our nations, innovative thinking and above all - the willingness to take action and not hesitate to do what is necessary to secure all our futures. It is by the actions of you all, the experts and entrepreneurs, practitioners and advocates, who are hard at work to make this vision for intelligent resource use a reality, it is you who will chart the path towards a better tomorrow.
• Thank you again, and may you have a safe trip home - good day and we hope to see you again next year.