FOREWORD Energy security is high on the agendas of ESCAP member States. The dependence of many of these countries on imported energy resources from other regions of the world and the unequal distribution of relatively abundant energy resources in the region punctuate this concern. The volatility of the price of oil due to supply and demand economics is another related issue. Under these circumstances, the technical and economic viability of energy efficiency has come into sharper focus. Promoting energy efficiency has been identified as an effective energy, economic and climate policy aimed at managing demand for energy, increasing economic revenues by decreasing cost, and reaping the rewards for mitigating climate change, respectively. Energy efficiency is a technical term in the energy sector that means using less energy to provide the same level of energy service. Energy efficiency is aligned with the path to Green Growth, a concept that involves a paradigm shift from “quantity of growth” to “quality of growth.” Such a shift is congruent with the aspirations embodied in an energy efficiency policy. Energy efficiency could be aptly considered a component of sustainable production and consumption path to Green Growth since it is based on the principle of improving the quality of consumption by reducing the quantity of resources used in production. Energy efficiency deviates from “old” economics in the sense that its emphasis is on building “virtual” power plants instead of building “more” power plants.
The institutional dimension, which has been lagging behind in development and policy debates for many years, is the focus of this publication. In the 1980s, a number of governments established entities to promote energy efficiency; however, they have been ineffective for a variety of reasons. As a result of weak institutional support and capacity, policy and programmes for energy efficiency have not received enough attention, which has a detrimental impact on their effectiveness. Against this backdrop, ESCAP launched the project “Strengthening institutional capacity to support energy efficiency in Asian countries” with the support of the Korea Energy Management Corporation (KEMCO) under the East Asia Climate Partnership to develop policy options for promoting and implementing energy efficiency. During the first year of project implementation, existing institutional arrangements in the Central, South and South-East Asian subregions were reviewed. Case studies of varying institutional arrangements from countries and regions inside and outside the ESCAP region were also prepared. In March 2010, a regional workshop was held in Bangkok to present the results of the study and to solicit comments from country participants and other energy efficiency stakeholders. This publication is the result of a review of the assessment conducted during the workshop. We hope that it will be relevant to national policymakers and energy institutions alike in their efforts to strengthen their capacity to promote energy efficiency and that it will contribute in advancing Green Growth in the long run. Bangkok, Thailand July 2010
iii Assessment Report on Energy Efficiency Institutional Arrangements in Asia Foreword
The promotion of energy efficiency is inadequate however, especially when fuel prices are low. In order to develop energy efficiency fully as a policy, an enabling environment should be developed. This environment consists of awareness, technology deployment, market, financing, regulations, legislation and institutional arrangements.