3 December 2014: The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) highlighted the need for investment in the sub-regional connectivity of energy infrastructure to fully exploit the potential of renewable energy in a time of falling oil prices.

The statement comes in the wake of a policy dialogue on sustainable energy, which took place from 26 – 28 November 2014 in Bangkok, Thailand. Policy makers from 30 countries attended the event.

At the dialogue, UNESCAP Executive Secretary, Shamsad Akhtar, said the fall in oil prices is currently reducing pressure to aggressively promote renewable energy and energy-efficient choices. He said, however, that the region still requires infrastructure to improve energy connectivity at the sub-regional level.

Participants highlighted the need to improve energy access, noting that 628 million people in the region still do not have electricity. Participants also recognized energy as a critical building in sustainable development.

The policy dialogue also discussed the integration of variable renewable energy into the power sector and the promotion of high-energy, low-emission coal power plants. UNESCAP is currently developing an online knowledge hub on energy data and policies in the Asia-Pacific region.

The dialogue is an annual event, following a decision of the first Asian and Pacific Energy Forum (APEF) in May 2013. The dialogue serves to link implementation of the APEF Plan of Action with national and regional actions, as well as the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative. The first policy dialogue in this series took place in December 2013. The next APEF will take place in Tonga in 2018. [UNESCAP Press Release] [APEF Website]