Regional study advance sustainable energy agenda
New UN energy portal and regional study advance sustainable energy agenda in Asia-Pacific
Bangkok
(ESCAP News) -- The United Nations Economic and Social
Commission
for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) launched an
innovative new online portal
today that will provide
unprecedented access to information on the
energy
policies of countries in Asia and the Pacific,
and advance the sustainable
energy agenda in the
region.
The Asia Pacific Energy Portal, http://www.asiapacificenergy.org/,
offers
member States powerful tools, including
highly interactive data
visualizations that enable
rapid trends identification as well as policy
tracking
and search. The unique combination of data and policy
information
in one application will help improve
analysis of the energy situation,
policies and their
development impact.
Alongside the portal, ESCAP also
launched the first annual Regional Trends
Report on
Energy for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific.
The
Report provides an additional platform for member
States to share their
experiences through case studies
regarding the energy sector and its
future
development.
Launching the report and the portal
on the sidelines of the 71st Commission
session in
Bangkok this week, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, United
Nations
Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary
of ESCAP explained that the
report and the portal are
part of the three pillars of the Asia Pacific
Energy
Forum (APEF) Implementation Support Mechanism set up by
ESCAP in
2013. The third pillar is an annual Policy
Dialogue, which met for the
first time in 2014.
“The
portal will continue to evolve to further expand the
knowledge base
supporting both the regional and
global agendas such as the Sustainable
Energy for All
initiative and the sustainable development goals,” said
Dr.
Akhtar. “Future development will include
incorporation of more data and the
creation of energy
resource and infrastructure maps. The portal could
also
be linked in the future with the regional data
repository on Sustainable
Energy for All in the
Pacific.”
Dr. Akhtar emphasized that APEF and its
outcome documents demonstrate the
commitment of ESCAP
member States to cooperate on a common energy agenda
that
seeks a cleaner, more efficient, equitable, and secure
energy future.
“ESCAP is committed to support member
State cooperation on a common energy
agenda for shared
prosperity, social equity and sustainability,” she
added.
ENDS