MANILA, Philippines--The Asia and Pacific region must invest between $7 trillion and $9.7 trillion in the energy sector from 2005 to 2030 to meet the rapidly growing demand in the region, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.

In its Energy Outlook for Asia and the Pacific report, ADB projected regional energy demand to grow 2.4 percent every year between 2005 and 2030, outpacing the world average of 1.5 percent.

?Nearly 80 percent of the region?s energy needs in 2030 would have to be met by fossil fuels?coal, oil and natural gas?and this will drive the growth in carbon dioxide emissions. Net imports of oil are projected to increase substantially, nearly doubling the 2005 level by 2030,? the report warned.

According to the report, the Philippines? total energy demand, for instance, is expected to surge by 85 percent to 79.6 million tons of oil equivalent (MTOE) from only 43.6 MTOE in 2006. The country?s average annual growth rate was estimated at 2.4 percent between 2005 and 2030.

Natural gas and coal are seen to be the country?s biggest sources for power generation over the next 20 years. Power generation using coal is expected to generate 61.8 terrawatt hours (TWh) by 2030, next to natural gas sources, which are estimated to generate 68.9 TWh.

The report was jointly published by ADB and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and was launched recently together with another report, the Energy Statistics in Asia and the Pacific (1990-2006). These two studies were undertaken by the Asia Pacific Energy Research Center of The Institute of Energy Economics of Japan.

During the recent launch of these reports, ADB vice president Lawrence Greenwood called on all stakeholders to seek a low-carbon path to meet growing energy demand in a socially, economically and environmentally sustainable way.

?Cooperation among the economies is needed to enhance energy security and sustainable development in the region. This can be done through sharing policy information, facilitating energy trade and conducting joint energy projects,? Greenwood said.

The energy outlook report pointed out that access to modern forms of energy is a necessary condition for economic development and a high standard of living in the Asia Pacific region. In 2005, about 930 million people in the Asia-Pacific region still did not have access to electricity.