APEC pushes for use of renewable energy

Senior officials from the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, which together make up nearly 60 percent of global energy demand, have agreed to push forward the use of renewable energy.

Senior officials from the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which together make up nearly 60 percent of global energy demand, have agreed to push forward the use of renewable energy.

The agreement came during their meeting in Bali, Indonesia on October 1 with the aim to cut at least 45 percent of regional energy use intensity (EUI) by 2035, a measure of a nation’s energy efficiency. EUI is calculated as unit of energy demand per unit of gross domestic product.

In the 2011 Summit in the US, APEC leaders consented to sharing information, composing joint studies and transferring technology so as to develop renewable energy.

A joint report by the Asia-Pacific Energy Research Centre and the APEC Energy Working Group indicated that the region is likely to achieve the goal but it needs to exert more efforts to ensure the environmentally-sustainable development of energy.

According to the report, regional energy demand will soar to 225 percent by 2035 if the EUI is not cut. A projected 80 percent of this will derive from fossil fuels, meaning that the emission of carbon dioxide will grow by 46 percent.

The ongoing meeting will last until October 3. A set of recommendations at the event will be submitted to the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting slated for October 7-8 for consideration.

The forum’s member economies account for roughly half of the world's economic output.