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INTRODUCTION
1. Policies and programmes of sustainable development
were initiated in various countries by national and
international organizations following the United Nations
Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm
in 1972. The efforts were intensified after the historic
Agenda 21 was adopted as the blueprint for sustainable
development at the United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in
1992. Sustainable energy development has been at the
core of many of these programmes, as energy production
and consumption activities are closely linked with issues
of sustainable development. Sustainable development
efforts are directed mainly towards social aspects,
such as poverty alleviation and environmental protection.
Accessibility to commercial energy1 supply is essential
for any programme of alleviating poverty through the
provision of basic minimum human needs or increasing
employment opportunities. The increasing production
of energy should, however, be effected in ways that
are both economically and ecologically sound. Sustainable
energy development programmes were designed in consonance
with these objectives. While significant progress has
been made in some countries of the Asian and Pacific
region, there are wide gaps in most countries between
intention and action, and between action and achievement.
The Action Programme briefly reviews what has already
been done and ways in which sustainable energy development
efforts can be accelerated.
2. The broad reasons for the unsatisfactory outcome
of sustainable energy development efforts have been
identified as the following:
(a) Since 1972, economic development has been significant
in the region, but attempts to integrate environmental
and social considerations into economic decision-making
in many sectors of the economy have not been successful;
(b) Poverty alleviation and promotion of equity issues
have not been considered in decisions in the energy
and environment sectors in some countries;
(c) Regulatory intervention in many countries has not
provided undistorted price signals. In some countries,
efforts of regulators to mix the control instruments
with market-based instruments have not been very successful;
(d) Funding of sustainable energy projects and programmes
has been inadequate and continues to be based on traditional
concepts of financial prudence. Innovative methods of
financing have yet to be developed in most countries
to promote investment in renewable energy projects and
energy research and development programmes;
(e) Institutional changes have been marginal and institutions
have largely failed to enlist the support of civil society,
particularly local-level communities, which could and
should have become the agent of change through participation
in policy-making through advocacy and in implementation
through partnerships;
(f) International and regional cooperation is still
inadequate in the energy sector, although some concrete
action has been taken in the subregional groupings.
3. Actions taken at the national and regional levels
in respect of sustainable development have been reviewed
on several occasions in ESCAP and in other forums. One
such comprehensive attempt was the Regional Action Programme
for Environmentally Sound and Sustainable Development,
1996-2000, adopted at the third Ministerial Conference
on Environment and Development in Asia and the Pacific,
held in 1995. This was reviewed at several expert group
meetings and was further examined recently at the Preparatory
Meeting of Senior Officials for the Ministerial Conference
on Environment and Development, 2000, held in Kitakyushu,
Japan, from 31 August to 2 September 2000.
4. The preparatory meeting in Kitakyushu reviewed the
implementation experience of Agenda 21 and the Regional
Action Programme for 1996-2000 and came to the following
conclusions:
(a) The Regional Action Programme for 1996-2000 had
identified 24 programmes for priority action. Fewer,
more targeted, achievable programmes should be adopted
in future;
(b) An action plan should include practical mechanisms
for implementation;
(c) In the region, the inadequate increase in official
development assistance (ODA) had been compensated to
some extent by an increase in private capital flows.
However, private sector finance was not a full substitute
for ODA as private sector funding failed to internalize
externalities;
(d) All countries must be persuaded to accept and act
on the view that the overarching need for poverty alleviation
was a fundamental prerequisite to sustainable development
that had not been accepted in practice in many countries;
(e) There was a need to intensify efforts to increase
the degree of public access to information on sustainable
development.
5. Based on these lessons learned and having considered
the current and emerging critical issues, the
Regional Action Programme for Environmentally Sound
and Sustainable Development, 2001-2005 was discussed
and adopted at the Ministerial Conference, held in Kitakyushu
on 4 and 5 September 2000. It listed the following eight
programmes areas:
(a) Environmental quality and
human health;
(b) Biodiversity;
(c) Coastal and marine environments;
(d) Freshwater resources;
(e) Desertification and land degradation;
(f) Globalization and policy integration;
(g) Climate change;
(h) Sustainable energy development.
Although sustainable energy development is listed as
a specific programme area, energy-related actions, policies
and programmes are also included in the other relevant
programme areas.
6. At the Preparatory Meeting, it was noted that an
increase in demand for energy was inescapable in view
of the high economic growth prospects in the countries
of the ESCAP region but that such increase in energy
demand had to be met by a choice of fuels and technologies
which would keep the negative
environmental impact to the minimum possible level.
The need to refine energy environment policies with
a clear focus on poverty alleviation was emphasized.
In keeping with those ideas, a mission statement was
developed.
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