Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BANGKOK1685
2009-07-14 07:26:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Bangkok
Cable title:
Asia Clean Energy Forum 2009 Draws More Than 800 Experts to
how-toR 140726Z JUL 09 FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK TO SECSTATE WASHDC 7529 AMEMBASSY BEIJING AMEMBASSY BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN AMEMBASSY CANBERRA AMEMBASSY COLOMBO AMEMBASSY HANOI AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD AMEMBASSY JAKARTA AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR AMEMBASSY MANILA AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI AMEMBASSY OTTAWA AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY AMEMBASSY SEOUL AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE AMEMBASSY TOKYO AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR AMEMBASSY VIENTIANE AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON
UNCLAS BANGKOK 001685
SECSTATE FOR OES, EAP, D
SECSTATE PLEASE PASS TO EPA/OIA AND DOE
AID FOR ANE/AA, ANE/EAA, ANE/TS, ANE/SPO,
EGAT/AA, EGAT/ESP, LPA
BRUSSELS FOR USAID
BEIJING FOR USAID
TOKYO FOR USAID
NEW DELHI FOR USAID
HANOI FOR USAID
JAKARTA FOR USAID
MANILA FOR USAID
PHNOM PENH FOR USAID
KATHMANDU FOR USAID
ISLAMABAD FOR USAID
COLOMBO FOR USAID
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID SENV ENRG ASEAN APECO
SUBJECT: Asia Clean Energy Forum 2009 Draws More Than 800 Experts to
Share Successful Strategies for Scaling Up Clean Energy Investments
in Asia
REF: BANGKOK 001678
UNCLAS BANGKOK 001685
SECSTATE FOR OES, EAP, D
SECSTATE PLEASE PASS TO EPA/OIA AND DOE
AID FOR ANE/AA, ANE/EAA, ANE/TS, ANE/SPO,
EGAT/AA, EGAT/ESP, LPA
BRUSSELS FOR USAID
BEIJING FOR USAID
TOKYO FOR USAID
NEW DELHI FOR USAID
HANOI FOR USAID
JAKARTA FOR USAID
MANILA FOR USAID
PHNOM PENH FOR USAID
KATHMANDU FOR USAID
ISLAMABAD FOR USAID
COLOMBO FOR USAID
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID SENV ENRG ASEAN APECO
SUBJECT: Asia Clean Energy Forum 2009 Draws More Than 800 Experts to
Share Successful Strategies for Scaling Up Clean Energy Investments
in Asia
REF: BANGKOK 001678
1. SUMMARY: To help confront the urgent challenge of scaling up
clean energy solutions for Asia while mitigating climate change, the
US Agency for International Development's Regional Development
Mission for Asia (USAID/RDMA) partnered with the Asian Development
Bank (ADB) and other donors to organize the 2009 Asia Clean Energy
Forum (ACEF) during June 17-19 during Climate and Clean Energy Week
at ADB headquarters in Manila. The event was attended by more than
800 key energy experts, developers, policy makers, and financiers
who shared their experiences designing and implementing clean energy
initiatives that, if significantly scaled up, will address climate
change and strengthen the long-term energy security of Asian
nations. USAID and ADB are now initiating planning for ACEF 2010 and
associated events. END SUMMARY
--------------
Climate and Clean Energy Week
--------------
2. USAID/RDMA co-organized a series of events during Climate and
Clean Energy Week through its Environmental Cooperation-Asia Clean
Development and Climate Program (ECO-Asia CDCP),in partnership with
the Asian Development Bank. Supporting sponsors included the
Governments of Australia, Japan, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. This was
the fourth year of the event, and the third consecutive year that it
was co-sponsored by USAID/RDMA.
3. Climate and Clean Energy Week included two main meetings. In
cooperation with The Energy Research Institute (TERI),ADB organized
a High-Level Dialogue on Climate Change in Asia and the Pacific
during June 16-17, 2009. Following the Dialogue, USAID's Regional
Development Mission for Asia co-organized the Asia Clean Energy
Forum during June 17-19, 2009.
4. The High-Level Dialogue featured a wide range of prominent
climate change experts and officials. The urgency of action on
climate change was highlighted by the host of the event, Nobel Prize
Winner Dr. R.K. Pachauri, who said that the world had only six years
left to limit greenhouse gas emissions in order to avoid a tipping
point that would increase global temperatures by more than 2 degrees
Celsius.
5. Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo delivered a speech
at a special closing session of the High-Level Dialogue that was
attended by both participants of the Dialogue and the Asia Clean
Energy Forum. President Arroyo urged Asian countries to embrace
renewable energy as a means of helping to avert catastrophic climate
change. Climate change must not be forgotten in the efforts to end
the global economic downturn, she said.
6. During the week, USAID/RDMA Acting Director Krell met with ADB
Acting US Executive Director Paul Curry at ADB to brief him on the
week's events and their relevance to addressing clean energy
challenges in Asia. Curry positively noted the USAID-ADB
collaboration on the event and was pleased to hear USAID plans to
continue to support the Forum next year.
--------------
Asia Clean Energy Forum
--------------
7. Following the conclusion of the High-Level Dialogue, a total of
821 energy experts, policy makers, financiers, and project
developers from 47 countries participated in the Asia Clean Energy
Forum 2009 (the Forum) during June 17-19, 2009. As a testament to
the rapidly growing interest in clean energy and climate issues,
this year's Forum had double the number participants reached in
2007, the first year that USAID co-organize the Forum with ADB.
8. Featuring a total of 100 expert speakers and 25 sessions, this
year's Forum focused on initiatives that will address climate change
and strengthen the long-term energy security of Asian nations while
helping Asian businesses weather the global economic downturn. The
discussions focused on four thematic areas: energy efficiency and
renewable energy, urban and transport issues, access to energy for
the poor, and energy and global climate change.
9. Speakers at the Forum stressed that Asia would need to play a
major role in reducing emissions and in the transition to a clean
energy economy. Energy demand in Asia is expected to grow at an
average annual rate of 2.4 percent to 2030, compared to 1.1 percent
for the rest of the world. While private investment in clean energy
technologies in Asia has stayed stable during the global slowdown,
new opportunities have been emerging as a result of government
stimulus packages. The "green" portion of the stimulus packages for
the world's major economies, including China, total more than US$430
billion. Most of this investment will go for clean energy, green
buildings, and sustainable transport.
10. United States Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney
delivered a keynote address during the opening plenary emphasizing
shared responsibility and cooperation. "The United States, just like
every other nation on this planet, does not have the capacity to
address climate change by itself," she said. "There is no
go-it-alone option for addressing climate change. That's why we must
work together. We must share solutions. There is, to be blunt, no
other viable option."
11. One of the main themes of the Forum was expanding access to
energy for the hundreds of millions of people in Asia who lack
modern energy services. Also during the opening plenary, ADB
launched its "Energy for All" partnership which aims to provide
access to reliable and affordable energy services to 100 million
people in Asia and the Pacific by 2015.
--------------
USAID Activities Highlighted at the Forum
--------------
12. USAID's ECO-Asia CDCP organized several key events during
Climate and Clean Energy Week, including the following.
13. USAID/RDMA launched a landmark report, Biofuels in Asia: An
Analysis of Sustainability Options, which found that by promoting
small-scale production of biofuels in rural communities rather than
large-scale production for transport uses, governments and donors
could help bring modern energy to as many as half a billion people
in rural Asia. (See REFTEL BANGKOK 001678 for more details.)
14. The Asia Clean Energy Marketplace Competition, organized by
ECO-Asia CDCP allowed companies, entrepreneurs, or institutions from
across Asia to showcase their technologies, products, or projects in
a poster competition. Thirteen companies or organizations were
selected as finalists and presented their posters during this
session to participants and an international panel of judges.
USAID/RDMA Acting Mission Director Barbara Krell presented awards
during the closing plenary of the Forum.
15. USAID's ECO-Asia program convened a pre-Forum workshop with more
than 70 leading experts and government and utility officials on ways
to scale up efficiency improvements through renovation and
modernization (R&M) of coal-fired power plants in Asia. The thermal
efficiency of Asia's existing coal-fired power plants is
significantly lower than the global average, resulting in relatively
high greenhouse gas and other emissions per unit of energy
generated. Participants identified priorities for overcoming
technical, regulatory, and financial barriers to scaling up R&M, and
shared experience and lessons learned from ongoing projects,
including USAID-supported efforts in China, India, and Vietnam.
16. During a Clean Energy Project Showcase session, selected clean
energy entrepreneurs presented their business plans to a mock panel
of investors and to seek feedback for improving their proposals. The
projects presented were for two-wheeled electric vehicles in India,
a patented technology for specialty biodiesel from biomass in
Southeast Asia, and integrated biomass-to-electricity project in
Thailand.
17. The Closing Plenary offered a vision for a clean energy future,
with keynote remarks by Antonio Hill of Oxfam International, and
Piyasvasti Amranand, former Minister of Energy for Thailand. Barbara
Krell, USAID/RDMA Acting Mission Director, and Bindu Lohani, ADB
Vice President of Finance and Administration, delivered closing
remarks. Acting Mission Director Krell also presented awards to the
three winners of Asia Clean Energy Marketplace Awards for Best
Innovative Clean Energy Technology, Best Innovative Clean Energy
Project or Business Model, and Best Innovative Clean Energy Program.
18. Full presentations from the Forum are available online at
http://www.cleanenergyasia.net, and more information about the
USAID/RDMA ECO-Asia Clean Development and Climate Program can be
found at http://usaid.eco-asia.org/programs/cdcp.
--------------
Planning for ACEF 2010
--------------
19. Next year, the Asia Clean Energy Forum will be held at ADB in
June or July 2010. USAID/RDMA plans to solicit suggestions from US
agencies for speakers and participants, and in particular for
high-level speakers from the US government. It is envisioned that
next year's Forum will be designed to respond to actionable outcomes
following the climate change negotiations in Copenhagen in December
2009. USAID/RDMA and ADB will also work to offset carbon emissions
to make next year's Forum a "zero-carbon-footprint" event.
JOHN
SECSTATE FOR OES, EAP, D
SECSTATE PLEASE PASS TO EPA/OIA AND DOE
AID FOR ANE/AA, ANE/EAA, ANE/TS, ANE/SPO,
EGAT/AA, EGAT/ESP, LPA
BRUSSELS FOR USAID
BEIJING FOR USAID
TOKYO FOR USAID
NEW DELHI FOR USAID
HANOI FOR USAID
JAKARTA FOR USAID
MANILA FOR USAID
PHNOM PENH FOR USAID
KATHMANDU FOR USAID
ISLAMABAD FOR USAID
COLOMBO FOR USAID
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID SENV ENRG ASEAN APECO
SUBJECT: Asia Clean Energy Forum 2009 Draws More Than 800 Experts to
Share Successful Strategies for Scaling Up Clean Energy Investments
in Asia
REF: BANGKOK 001678
1. SUMMARY: To help confront the urgent challenge of scaling up
clean energy solutions for Asia while mitigating climate change, the
US Agency for International Development's Regional Development
Mission for Asia (USAID/RDMA) partnered with the Asian Development
Bank (ADB) and other donors to organize the 2009 Asia Clean Energy
Forum (ACEF) during June 17-19 during Climate and Clean Energy Week
at ADB headquarters in Manila. The event was attended by more than
800 key energy experts, developers, policy makers, and financiers
who shared their experiences designing and implementing clean energy
initiatives that, if significantly scaled up, will address climate
change and strengthen the long-term energy security of Asian
nations. USAID and ADB are now initiating planning for ACEF 2010 and
associated events. END SUMMARY
--------------
Climate and Clean Energy Week
--------------
2. USAID/RDMA co-organized a series of events during Climate and
Clean Energy Week through its Environmental Cooperation-Asia Clean
Development and Climate Program (ECO-Asia CDCP),in partnership with
the Asian Development Bank. Supporting sponsors included the
Governments of Australia, Japan, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. This was
the fourth year of the event, and the third consecutive year that it
was co-sponsored by USAID/RDMA.
3. Climate and Clean Energy Week included two main meetings. In
cooperation with The Energy Research Institute (TERI),ADB organized
a High-Level Dialogue on Climate Change in Asia and the Pacific
during June 16-17, 2009. Following the Dialogue, USAID's Regional
Development Mission for Asia co-organized the Asia Clean Energy
Forum during June 17-19, 2009.
4. The High-Level Dialogue featured a wide range of prominent
climate change experts and officials. The urgency of action on
climate change was highlighted by the host of the event, Nobel Prize
Winner Dr. R.K. Pachauri, who said that the world had only six years
left to limit greenhouse gas emissions in order to avoid a tipping
point that would increase global temperatures by more than 2 degrees
Celsius.
5. Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo delivered a speech
at a special closing session of the High-Level Dialogue that was
attended by both participants of the Dialogue and the Asia Clean
Energy Forum. President Arroyo urged Asian countries to embrace
renewable energy as a means of helping to avert catastrophic climate
change. Climate change must not be forgotten in the efforts to end
the global economic downturn, she said.
6. During the week, USAID/RDMA Acting Director Krell met with ADB
Acting US Executive Director Paul Curry at ADB to brief him on the
week's events and their relevance to addressing clean energy
challenges in Asia. Curry positively noted the USAID-ADB
collaboration on the event and was pleased to hear USAID plans to
continue to support the Forum next year.
--------------
Asia Clean Energy Forum
--------------
7. Following the conclusion of the High-Level Dialogue, a total of
821 energy experts, policy makers, financiers, and project
developers from 47 countries participated in the Asia Clean Energy
Forum 2009 (the Forum) during June 17-19, 2009. As a testament to
the rapidly growing interest in clean energy and climate issues,
this year's Forum had double the number participants reached in
2007, the first year that USAID co-organize the Forum with ADB.
8. Featuring a total of 100 expert speakers and 25 sessions, this
year's Forum focused on initiatives that will address climate change
and strengthen the long-term energy security of Asian nations while
helping Asian businesses weather the global economic downturn. The
discussions focused on four thematic areas: energy efficiency and
renewable energy, urban and transport issues, access to energy for
the poor, and energy and global climate change.
9. Speakers at the Forum stressed that Asia would need to play a
major role in reducing emissions and in the transition to a clean
energy economy. Energy demand in Asia is expected to grow at an
average annual rate of 2.4 percent to 2030, compared to 1.1 percent
for the rest of the world. While private investment in clean energy
technologies in Asia has stayed stable during the global slowdown,
new opportunities have been emerging as a result of government
stimulus packages. The "green" portion of the stimulus packages for
the world's major economies, including China, total more than US$430
billion. Most of this investment will go for clean energy, green
buildings, and sustainable transport.
10. United States Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney
delivered a keynote address during the opening plenary emphasizing
shared responsibility and cooperation. "The United States, just like
every other nation on this planet, does not have the capacity to
address climate change by itself," she said. "There is no
go-it-alone option for addressing climate change. That's why we must
work together. We must share solutions. There is, to be blunt, no
other viable option."
11. One of the main themes of the Forum was expanding access to
energy for the hundreds of millions of people in Asia who lack
modern energy services. Also during the opening plenary, ADB
launched its "Energy for All" partnership which aims to provide
access to reliable and affordable energy services to 100 million
people in Asia and the Pacific by 2015.
--------------
USAID Activities Highlighted at the Forum
--------------
12. USAID's ECO-Asia CDCP organized several key events during
Climate and Clean Energy Week, including the following.
13. USAID/RDMA launched a landmark report, Biofuels in Asia: An
Analysis of Sustainability Options, which found that by promoting
small-scale production of biofuels in rural communities rather than
large-scale production for transport uses, governments and donors
could help bring modern energy to as many as half a billion people
in rural Asia. (See REFTEL BANGKOK 001678 for more details.)
14. The Asia Clean Energy Marketplace Competition, organized by
ECO-Asia CDCP allowed companies, entrepreneurs, or institutions from
across Asia to showcase their technologies, products, or projects in
a poster competition. Thirteen companies or organizations were
selected as finalists and presented their posters during this
session to participants and an international panel of judges.
USAID/RDMA Acting Mission Director Barbara Krell presented awards
during the closing plenary of the Forum.
15. USAID's ECO-Asia program convened a pre-Forum workshop with more
than 70 leading experts and government and utility officials on ways
to scale up efficiency improvements through renovation and
modernization (R&M) of coal-fired power plants in Asia. The thermal
efficiency of Asia's existing coal-fired power plants is
significantly lower than the global average, resulting in relatively
high greenhouse gas and other emissions per unit of energy
generated. Participants identified priorities for overcoming
technical, regulatory, and financial barriers to scaling up R&M, and
shared experience and lessons learned from ongoing projects,
including USAID-supported efforts in China, India, and Vietnam.
16. During a Clean Energy Project Showcase session, selected clean
energy entrepreneurs presented their business plans to a mock panel
of investors and to seek feedback for improving their proposals. The
projects presented were for two-wheeled electric vehicles in India,
a patented technology for specialty biodiesel from biomass in
Southeast Asia, and integrated biomass-to-electricity project in
Thailand.
17. The Closing Plenary offered a vision for a clean energy future,
with keynote remarks by Antonio Hill of Oxfam International, and
Piyasvasti Amranand, former Minister of Energy for Thailand. Barbara
Krell, USAID/RDMA Acting Mission Director, and Bindu Lohani, ADB
Vice President of Finance and Administration, delivered closing
remarks. Acting Mission Director Krell also presented awards to the
three winners of Asia Clean Energy Marketplace Awards for Best
Innovative Clean Energy Technology, Best Innovative Clean Energy
Project or Business Model, and Best Innovative Clean Energy Program.
18. Full presentations from the Forum are available online at
http://www.cleanenergyasia.net, and more information about the
USAID/RDMA ECO-Asia Clean Development and Climate Program can be
found at http://usaid.eco-asia.org/programs/cdcp.
--------------
Planning for ACEF 2010
--------------
19. Next year, the Asia Clean Energy Forum will be held at ADB in
June or July 2010. USAID/RDMA plans to solicit suggestions from US
agencies for speakers and participants, and in particular for
high-level speakers from the US government. It is envisioned that
next year's Forum will be designed to respond to actionable outcomes
following the climate change negotiations in Copenhagen in December
2009. USAID/RDMA and ADB will also work to offset carbon emissions
to make next year's Forum a "zero-carbon-footprint" event.
JOHN