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Regional Energy Programme for Poverty Reduction
Highlights
Regional Launch of Overcoming
Vulnerability
to Rising Oil Prices: Options for Asia and the Pacific: 25 October 2007
Please find a copy of the Questions and Answers session with Dr. Nandita Mongia here
Please find a copy of Dr. Hafiz Pasha speech here
Sub Regional Launch of Overcoming Vulnerability to Rising Oil Prices: Options for Asia and the Pacific in - The Pacific: December 2007
Country Launch of Overcoming Vulnerability to Rising Oil Prices: Options for Asia and the Pacific - China: December 2007
Country Launch of Overcoming Vulnerability to Rising Oil Prices: Options for Asia and the Pacific in - Philippines: February 2007
ESCAP 64th Commission: 24-30 April 2008
Post Bali Climate Change Conference: 26 - 27 February 2008
REP-PoRs knowledge products were showcased and distributed at the post Bali UNFCC conference which took place in Bangkok, Thailand from the 31st of March till the 4th of April. It was a great success given the number of times we replenished our stock of publications.
Cross Broder Trade Meeting: 2 - 3 December 2007
Bangladesh Out Reach 30th April 2008
28 February 2008
Part 1
Technical Review Committee Meeting: 8 – 10 August 2006
The Regional Energy Programme for Poverty Reduction (REP-PoR) on August 8-10, 2006 held its third and final technical review committee (TRC) meeting of three regional policy studies currently being undertaken by the Programme. The links below are for the presentation on the draft final reports for each of the studies:
The objective of the meeting was to review and comment on the draft final report submitted by the three study teams. Each policy study was given a day for discussion, which allowed for the study teams to present their key findings, followed by an in depth review and discussion of the studies. The teams and the TRC members agreed on the timeline for the next steps in finalising the reports for final submission.
An additional day was spent discussing the concept and ideas for the advocacy report, “The Poor in a Changing Energy World”. This discussion involved the study teams, the UNDP RCB REP-PoR team and regional policy advisor, UNESCAP and experts. It was decided this advocacy report would consolidate the three studies and identify policy measures to mitigate the growing impact of the rising oil price on the poor.
Please find the TRC Agenda here.
 
Presentation and discussion during the TRC meeting
Impact of Rising Oil Prices on the Poor and Implications for the Achievement of the MDG
Poor are likely to be adversely affected due to higher prices for energy since late 2002 in the Asia-Pacific countries. Such a situation will restrict progress towards poverty reduction, and hamper the achievement of the MDGs. Given the above scenario the central objective of the study is to assess socio-economic impacts of rising oil prices at global, regional and national levels. The study therefore aims to provide an appropriate framework within which regional and country-specific impacts of global price increases could be assessed.
Rapid Assessment and Gap Analysis of Access to Energy Services
REP-PoR launched the rapid assessment of access to energy services at national levels in the Asia-Pacific region in mid-2005. Overall, this initiative aims to highlight issues that hinder access to energy services by lower income groups, close to or below the poverty line. The process was initiated through two planning workshops, one covering Asia, held in Bangkok, Thailand and the other covering the Pacific held in Apia, Samoa. The workshops involved experts, UNDP Country Office focal points, and national experts to arrive at a common framework for the assessment. Subsequently, 15 countries in Asia and all 15 Pacific Islands Counties (PICs) initiated a ‘rapid assessment and gap analysis of access to energy’, supported by 18 UNDP Country Offices. The figure 1 presents the schematic diagram of the gap assessment process.
Energy Security for the Poor
REP-PoR will be producing a regional advocacy report that will focus on energy security for the poor, entitled “The Poor in a Changing Energy World”. This report will look at the human dimension of energy issues in the region, with a particular focus on the poor, and propose policies and interventions that support human development. As part of this advocacy report process, three key policy studies have been initiated by REP-PoR. As part of this advocacy report process, three key policy studies have been launched by REP-PoR. These are:
Building advocacy skills to push for access to energy services for the poor
One of REP-PoR’s strategic services is capacity building. The 16 UNDP Country Office staff working in the area of energy were provided media training. The purpose of the media training was to enable them to conduct advocacy work on access to energy services for the poor. At the end of the day long training participants were trained on conveying key messages in a clear and effective manner to the audience. This training also ties into the Gap Assessment at the national level, as the participants already through this report key recommendations to advocate for at the policy level.
Beginning this year and continuing to next year the UN Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD) Sessions 14 and 15 has been dedicated to Energy for Sustainable Development among others. In this regards, REP-PoR is prepared to assist to raise the energy for poverty reduction debate at the national level as part of UNDP’s support to the global UN CSD forum. This media training is an effort for national level staff to be able to conduct and initiate such a dialogue.
Developing Regional Strategy for the CDM in the Asia Pacific Region
UNDP headquarters has approved a two-year trial of the UNDP-MDG Carbon Facility that was reported during in the Global Management Team Meeting in the Hague, Neterlands in early 2006. UNDP aims to add MDG-based development dividends to the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and other carbon financing facilities that have emerged with and without the Kyoto Protocol framework. All regional bureaux have been requested to develop regional strategies that will feed into the UNDP Global Strategy. In this context, UNDP RCB REP-PoR, in cooperation with the International Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES/Japan) hosted a two-day consultative workshop on the “Development of a Regional Strategy on the Clean Development Mechanism.” The workshop was organized in light of increasing strategic UNDP engagement in carbon financing, including the recently launched UNDP MDG Carbon Facility.
The workshop participants encompassed UNDP Country Office CDM Focal points as well as Government CDM focal points/representatives and key experts. The principal objective of the workshop was the identification and discussion of elements for the development of a new Asia-Pacific Regional Strategy on the, CDM which is currently being finalized. The workshop fostered knowledge-sharing by reviewing the most recent decisions and developments on CDM procedures and modalities; taking stock of emerging environmental commodity markets and carbon financing and UNDP’s specific services in this regard; looking at UNDP Country Office capacities and CDM activities and discussing national level experiences with CDM to-date. Major discussions revolved around the need to define clear poverty reduction criteria for the approval of CDM projects and to re-focus CDM in sectors that are pertinent to poverty reduction and the MDGs.
Thematic Presentations
Pictures CDM & Workshop
Asia-Pacific Gender Workshop & Report
The REP-PoR overall efforts have a gender focus to facilitate women’s involvement in the management of energy systems and mainstreaming energy into their areas of operation. This report attempts to identify and review gender concerns in energy and poverty in the Asia-Pacific region, and to provide recommendations on the ways to mainstream gender within the provision of energy services for social and economic development.
Workshop Report
- Training Course on Mainstreaming Gender Concerns in Energy Projects Vol.1
- Training Course on Mainstreaming Gender Concerns in Energy Projects Vol.2
Regional Mapping of Options to Promote Private Investments in Alternative Energy Sources for the Poor
The surge in international oil prices since late 2002 and the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change in February 2005 have lent new urgency to the accelerated development of renewable energy markets in developing countries. In the Asia-Pacific region, the majorities of developing countries rely on imported oil, and have a large low income populous with low or no access to electricity and a high dependence on traditional biomass fuels. Mounting uncertainties over fossil fuel supplies and prices undermine their energy transition prospects, whereas new opportunities offered by Kyoto implementation vehicles, such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), have the potential to enhance their energy security and livelihoods in furtherance of the MDGs.
The central objectives of the study are to: identify current and proposed renewable energy policies, programmes and initiatives in the region against global oil price trends, energy security concerns, and socio-economic development and environmental goals, and emphasis on achieving the MDGs.
Ambulant Food Vendors: A Pilot Project for the Urban Poor Women Entrepreneurs
UNDP REP-PoR is implementing a project with APPROTECH ASIA (member of ENERGIA) in the Philippines. This project aims to provide energy-efficient stoves for cooking and boiling water and improvised solar water heater to sterilize utensils as well as cooking area to the ambulant food vendors. This will save time and fuel yet to increase the heat-efficiency of the stove hence these will reduce expenses on fuel. Selected 100 ambulant food vendors (mostly women with girls and young children helpers) in the cities of Davao, Cebu and Manila will be trained on hygienic food handling and preparation, provided with energy-efficient stoves to be paid on installment basis.
Cross-Border Energy Trade and its Impact on the Poor
Energy demand is expanding rapidly in the Asia-Pacific region and is expected to account for a fifth of global demand by 2010. Traditional energy importers like Japan and the Republic of Korea have been joined by China and India recently, emerging as top energy-consuming and import-seeking countries in global markets. Indonesia, until recently an energy exporter became a net importer in 2004 while Malaysia is also moving in that direction. These developments have significant implications for the poor's access to modern energy sources, which would eventually lead to new avenues of cross-border trade in energy. How this will affect poor's accessibility to energy is a matter of grave concern requiring urgent analysis and attention.
The central objectives of the study are review developments in cross-border energy trade at global, regional, sub-regional and bilateral levels, and establish the energy trade status; assess economic, social, environmental and energy security impacts of energy trade for both exporting and importing countries; assess impacts of energy trade on poor covering access, affordability, incomes, livelihoods and lifestyles; analyse implications of the above for attaining the MDGs; and outline recommendations for energy accessibility for the poor.
Productive Uses of Renewable Energy
UNDP with the cooperation of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), conducted an expert group meeting where the practitioners (bringing in existing project experience) and the experts (researchers) shared their experiences on productive uses of renewable energy (PURE). The main objective of the meeting was programming toolkit to help design programmes for the productive uses of renewable energy for income generation.
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