Apec economies commit to slash energy intensity

MEMBER economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) have reaffirmed their commitment to slash their “energy intensity” by 45 percent in 20 years in a bid to further reduce their carbon footprints.

Energy intensity refers to a comparative measure to determine the energy efficiency of each economy calculated as units of energy per unit of gross domestic product (GDP), Apec explained.

At the 46th Apec Expert Group in Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EGEEC) meeting held recently in Cebu, the group also committed to further intensify efforts that would enable members to achieve this goal.

These efforts will be geared toward reducing an economy’s energy consumption by adopting energy efficiency measures in the different sectors of society. This is expected to result in a reduction of dependence on imported energy resources, protect the environment and foster a sustainable energy system for Asia-Pacific.

The Apec EGEEC is actively pursuing its Energy Smart Communities Initiatives Knowledge Sharing Platform (ESCI-KSP) as a tool to consolidate ideas, best practices and energy efficiency and low carbon projects. These are aimed at supporting Apec EGEEC’s four main pillars: smart transport, smart buildings, smart grids, and smart jobs and consumers.

“Apec economies are encouraged to support the development of the ESCI-KSP to determine appropriate project proposals that will address the remaining challenges in achieving the Apec Leader’s energy intensity reduction goal,” Apec said.

The economies that are said to have low energy intensities are the highly productive states that have manageable weather patterns; which use high energy efficiency appliances and equipment that apply energy efficient technologies in its buildings and industries; which use efficient mass transport system and fuel efficient vehicles; and adopt energy conservation measures, among others. Amy Remo