From the Desk of the Head, APCTT

Energy is a prerequisite for promoting inclusive socio-economic development and eradicating poverty. Thus, in any nation, ensuring sustainable energy supplies assumes strategic importance. Studies suggest that sustainable energy development strategies involve three major technological challenges namely, saving energy on the demand side, improving the efficiency of energy production, and replacing fossil fuels by renewable energy. The importance of promoting renewable energy usage was underscored by the Beijing Declaration on Renewable Energy for Sustainable Development in 2005, where it was emphasized that, "The growing awareness of energy poverty in developing countries, the risk of climate change and the important role that renewable energy should play in sustainable development and energy security, the increasing number of international initiatives and commitments, and volatility of world energy markets, provide an unprecedented opportunity for addressing the strategic challenge of transforming our energy systems."

Given the important role that renewable energy technologies can play in fostering sustained and balanced socio-economic development, the latest initiative of the ESCAP - Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology (APCTT) - the promotion of renewable energy technology transfer and utilization in the Asia-Pacific region assumes great importance. This initiative was launched in response to Resolution E/ESCAP/64/L.13 titled, "Promoting renewables for energy security and sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific," at the 64th Commission Session of ESCAP in Bangkok in April 2008. This resolution proposed the establishment of an institutional cooperation mechanism with the active engagement of the Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology, its focal points in member countries, Ministries of New and Renewable Energy in member countries, UN-EPOC, and expert research institutions in the region by identifying activities on development, demonstration and capacity-building pertaining to various renewable energy technologies. In accordance with this resolution, APCTT prepared a comprehensive project and drew up a programme of cooperation to promote renewable energy technologies. In 2009, APCTT commenced the initial activities to support the establishment of this mechanism with funding support from ESCAP.

These initial activities which are aimed at facilitating the establishment of a regional cooperation mechanism include the following:

• Exchange of information on the availability of renewable energy technologies (RETs) for possible adoption
• Linking of scientists working in RETs thereby providing a framework for embarking on collaborative research projects and facilitating the commercialization of RET research results
• Training to develop skills for resource assessment and technical specification preparation for choosing RETs and for planning and implementing renewable energy technology transfer projects
• Sharing of best practices on policy measures needed to promote RET adoption and usage.

These activities are just a stepping stone towards the establishment and operation of the institutional cooperation mechanism which we hope will take place over the next few years. We are pleased that Bangladesh, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vanuatu and Viet Nam are participating and contributing to the initial activities. We hope to receive the support of more countries in the region as we progress

As APCTT strives to make a significant value-added contribution to the socio-economic development of the ESCAP region, this project will enable APCTT to fulfill its mandate of strengthening the technology transfer capabilities of countries in the region and facilitating the transfer of environmentally sound renewable energy technologies. This project will also focus on the Centre's target group namely government agencies, R&D institutions, universities, technology transfer intermediaries and small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs).

While working toward the establishment of an institutional cooperation mechanism to promote renewable energy, APCTT's focus will be on countries of the Asia-Pacific region. It is envisaged that the Centre's efforts will complement other global initiatives dealing with the promotion of renewable energy technologies.