Asia has made huge strides in developing clean energy over the past decade, but must boost investment and its use of energy efficient technology to meet rising demand and to cope with climate change, Asian Development Bank (ADB) officials and other experts said yesterday.
Renewable energy has become cheaper as technology progresses, and governments must seize the chance presented by low oil prices to eliminate costly fuel subsidies and level the playing field for renewables, ADB vice president Bindu Lohani said.
He told the Asia Clean Energy Forum, which gathers about 1,000 business leaders, government officials and experts, that the ADB foresees coal remaining a dominant energy source in Asia, despite a leap in renewable energy use, including solar, wind and geothermal power.
Use of coal is forecast to rise 50 percent by 2035 from 2010 levels. Coal is cheap, but highly polluting and blamed for contributing to climate change.
Global investment in renewable energy rose 17 percent last year to US$270 billion from 2013. Nearly half of that amount, or US$131.3 billion, was investments in developing nations, according to a UN Environment Program report released in March.
China accounted for the lion’s share of developing world investment in renewables at US$83.3 billion, up 39 percent from 2013.
Lohani said that even if the UN achieves its goal to make renewable energy 36 percent of the world’s energy supply by 2050, two-thirds of global energy needs would still be met by fossil fuels, where coal is dominant.
He said Asia has not sufficiently tapped commercially available technologies for energy efficiency and needs to retrofit aging power plants.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Diplomacy Robin Dunnigan said renewables represent about 17 percent of the US power mix, and that the US is on track to double its 2009 numbers by 2020.
The US has also made big strides in energy efficiency measures, she said.
According to the International Energy Agency, “if we realize full energy efficiency potential, we can shave off up to 15 percent of demand globally by 2040,” Dunnigan said.
“Energy efficiency measures are particularly important in cities, so if migration to cities occurs at increasing rates in Asia, energy efficiency can really be a game-changer,” she added.
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