Expert calls for more information on economic gains from energy-saving consumer products
Neo Chai Chin Today Online 5 Dec 12;
SINGAPORE - Given a choice between two similar television sets in a store, consumers would likely buy the cheaper one. But they may choose differently if a label shows that in two years' time, the other television set's energy savings will exceed its initial price premium.
Providing information on the economic gains from energy-saving consumer products is just one of the "many things" governments around the world can do to ramp up energy efficiency, but governments often do not provide full information, said Dr Fatih Birol, Chief Economist of the International Energy Agency (IEA), yesterday.
According to the IEA's analysis, two-thirds of the potential to improve energy efficiency in economically-viable ways will remain unrealised through to 2035.
This is akin to shutting down an oil field after extracting only one-third of its oil, said Dr Birol, who was in town for the South-east Asia launch of the World Energy Outlook 2012, IEA's flagship publication.
Calling it an "epic failure of international energy policy making", he added that efficiency policies can make a difference to even the world's largest economy.
The United States' declining oil import dependency is due not only to the growth of its domestic production, but also as a result of its drop in domestic oil consumption - driven by new fuel efficiency standards for cars introduced by the first Obama administration, he said.
With more natural gas producers and Europe exerting pressure on gas exporters to lower prices, Dr Birol is hopeful the same will happen in Asia.
Singapore uses mainly natural gas for power generation.
As prices of natural gas in Asia are determined by commercial contracts and indexed to fuel oil prices, Singapore's electricity tariffs are affected by oil prices.
"There're some first signals of certain spot markets ... and I hope that new producers coming into picture will provide for Asian consumers, Asian importers, strong cards in their hands to negotiate new contracts," he said.
Expert urges bigger push for sustainable energy
Jonathan Kwok Straits Times 5 Dec 12;
THE energy industry is still failing to put the sector onto a more sustainable path, said an expert yesterday.
Dr Fatih Birol, chief economist at the International Energy Agency (IEA), argued that more needs to be done to raise energy efficiency and the access to energy for poor people across the world.
Subsidies for fossil fuels in many countries are also delaying the transition to alternative, cleaner forms of energy.
Such subsidies amounted to US$523 billion (S$635 billion) worldwide last year, up almost 30 per cent from the figure in 2010 and six times more than subsidies for renewable energy.
Dr Birol called these fossil fuel subsidies the "No. 1 public enemy in the fight against climate change" at a forum to mark the South-east Asia launch of the IEA's flagship report, the World Energy Outlook 2012.
The forum at Raffles Hotel was jointly organised by the Paris-based IEA and Singapore's Energy Market Authority.
"(Fossil fuel subsidies) remain most prevalent in the Middle East and North Africa, where momentum towards their reform appears to have been lost," said the executive summary for the report.
Dr Birol noted that energy demand and carbon dioxide emissions are rising and fossil fuels are still dominant as sources of energy, despite the growth in low-carbon sources of energy.
Renewable energy - especially wind and solar power - is under pressure, he said.
Global energy efficiency is also lagging behind in the absence of a "concerted policy push" by governments, said Dr Birol.
"Two-thirds of the economically viable potential to improve energy efficiency will remain unrealised through to 2035."
Yet such action is important to delay global warming, buying time to secure a much-needed global climate agreement, he said.
The report also said the Asean economies are set to play a key role in global energy markets over the next 25 years.
South-east Asia's energy demand is expected to expand by more than 80 per cent over the period.
This growth will refocus the global energy landscape towards Asia, especially with the rising energy needs in China and India.
"But many challenges will need to be overcome if South-east Asia is to meet its growing needs at affordable prices and in a sustainable manner," said Dr Birol.
The World Energy Outlook report also sets out updated projections of energy demand, production, trade, investment and carbon dioxide emissions, broken down by country, fuel and sector, from now till 2035.
