APEC urges governments to moot biofuels

29 May 2007 08:16  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Governments should raise their commitment in developing policies encouraging the growth of energy-efficient industries in order to cut greenhouse emissions, a senior industry official said on Tuesday.

The policies should include the promotion of biofuels as well as helping developing economies upgrade technology and work practices to become more environmentally friendly, said Colin Heseltine, executive director of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) secretariat.

Heseltine delivered his speech at the 8th APEC Energy Ministers Meeting in Darwin, Australia.

“Finance ministers have also highlighted that with the development of appropriate fiscal and monetary policies, more private and public funds would find investment in energy infrastructure and new and renewable energy technologies to be more attractive,” he said.

Heseltine added that the APEC Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) on Trade and Investment is now considering the possibility of recommending an APEC list of environmental goods to the World Trade Organization for potential tariff elimination during the Doha Round of negotiations.

“If this is achieved, barriers to trade in energy saving and energy efficient products would be effectively removed,” he said.

Industry leaders such as Shell Australia’s Russell Caplan also urged governments to develop energy policies with long-term sustainability in mind, particularly encouraging industries to produce biofuels from non-food sources as they are more effective in cutting greenhouse emissions.

“Today, many first-generation biofuels are made from food crops such as sugar cane, wheat or corn,” Caplan said.

“Apart from raising the philosophical question on whether to eat it or burn it, they require lots of energy to produce.”

The 21-member APEC – comprising Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China; Hong Kong,  Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the US and Vietnam – account for 60% of global energy demand.

By: Cheok Soh Hui
+65 6780 4359

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