25 April 2012: The Asian Development Bank’s Energy for All initiative has announced the publication of a report it co-supported with AEI, titled “Learning from emerging energy innovations in Asia: Contributing to the discourse on an institutional framework for sustainable development.”

The report, written by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), identifies Asian best practices in addressing energy access and clean energy expansion and analyzes how these practices could inform the expansion of clean energy into the international dialogue on an institutional framework for sustainable development (IFSD). It notes that the large population of energy poor in Asia is catalyzing the region into adopting grassroots, low cost, clean energy interventions, including biomass gasifiers, solar, wind and small hydro. The study specifically examines clean energy projects in India, Bangladesh, Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia, and reviews energy programmes in areas of Nepal, Mongolia, China, India and Japan.

The study concludes with recommendations for strengthening international energy governance. These include that: governance needs to promote decentralized rather than centralized solutions, as renewable energy comes in a variety of forms and often requires customization to local conditions to be effective; for effective customized local solutions, multi-stakeholder participation is required at both the planning and implementation stages; and additional capacity building is needed for all actors. The study also identifies mechanisms important to achieving improved energy outcomes including: innovative financing mechanisms; customized needs-based approaches; capacity building for technology absorption; mechanisms for cooperation and coordination; user buy in; and market development strategies and market driven programmes. [Energy For All Press Release] [Publication: Learning from Emerging Energy Innovations in Asia: Contributing to the Discourse on an Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development]