Projects undertaken from 1989 to 2005

Review of natural gas markets in Asia, 2003
Sponsor: Japan Gas Association

The study reviewed the current situation of natural gas industry, identified obstacles to free natural gas trade in Asia, and the main driving forces that will impact the future role of natural gas in Asia.

Sustainable energy: perspective for Asia, 2002
Sponsor: Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Norway

The study reviewed developments in the energy sector in Asia. The document draws upon the views and perceptions of eminent personalities and experts on the impact of changes in the energy sector on the economy, society, and environment in Asia. The views of stakeholders were elicited through personal interviews and questionnaires.

Energy-security issues and implications for Asia, 1998-99
Sponsor: Ministry of International Trade and Industry – Japan; Japanese National Oil Corporation (JNOC)

Given that the Asian continent would remain a net importer of energy, with substantial increases in magnitudes of imports in certain countries, security implications of future energy consumption in the region would be of value not only to this region itself, but also to the world as a whole. While energy security is primarily a domestic concern and so are the solutions, the project took an aggregated view and considered energy security for Asia as a whole. This study focused on an annual reporting on energy developments in the Asia-Pacific region, which covered projections on economic and demographic changes, regional and sub-regional trends in energy production and consumption, projections for investment demands, energy security issues and implications.

Preparation of a paper on global trends and statistics, 1998-99
Sponsor: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

A compilation on energy and environmental statistics for Asian countries was undertaken at the request of UNFCCC. Key emerging trends were also analyzed by the AEI Secretariat.

Increased implementation of environmentally sustainable initiatives related to AIJ (activities implemented jointly), 1997-2002
Sponsor: Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)

The mechanism of JI (Joint Implementation) or AIJ (activities implemented jointly) is one of the instruments provided under the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) to enable the member Parties meet their respective commitments cost-effectively on a global basis. At the first Conference of Parties to the FCCC (COP-1), it was decided to establish a pilot phase for AIJ among developing and developed country Parties to the Convention (FCCC/CP/1995/L.13). The main objective of this phase was to gather information and experience, draw lessons and to demonstrate viability of the mechanism as a feasible and equitable instrument facilitating Parties to meet the objectives of the FCCC.

In this light, the TERI in conjunction with Pembina Institute, Canada explored various aspects of AIJ/JI, and built a regional base in Asia to encourage discussion and research regarding the potential and application of cooperative projects under AIJ/JI. The AEI members played an important role in the project. The program involved research in various aspects, including both general and country-specific issues, and modalities related to the concept and working of AIJ (like project design, monitoring and verification); attempt to increase the understanding and disseminate AIJ related information on a large scale, particularly to the potential partners from Asia and Canada; and identified the potential AIJ projects in various countries of Asia, as well as the potential investors. During the course of the project, CDM became a reality and the AEI members assisted in identifying potential CDM projects in their respective countries.

Sustainable transportation in four Asian Cities, 1996
Sponsor: Deutsche Gesselschaft Fur Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH

A meeting was held to design a study on GHG mitigation through sustainable transportation, with a view to identifying the challenges, identify policy interventions and design implementation strategies. The emphasis was on metropolitan passenger transport systems.

Conference on Possible areas of cooperation in energy and related fields between Central Asia, the Caucasus, and other Asian countries held in July 1995 at New Delhi, India
Sponsor: AEI; United Nations University-Japan; ADB-Manila; GISPRI-Japan and Ministry of External Affairs, India

The major objectives of the conference were as follows:

To assess the energy and environment situation in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and other Asian countries
To identify the potential and formulate an agenda for regional cooperation in energy and related fields
To identify specific projects to be undertaken with the support of funding organizations like the Global Environment Facility
To set up an information exchange system through a networking arrangement

Prior to the conference, an exploratory mission was sent to Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, to acquire information on the energy-environmental situation, existing data, and networks in these countries, and to identify institutions which could be part of any cooperative ventures in the future.

The primary outcome of the conference was the formulation of a plan for information exchange and networking in order to establish a database on energy and environment variables in these countries. This regional information network called Energy, Emissions and Technology Database was expected to facilitate continuous monitoring of the energy and environment situation and provide information on the availability of resources, technologies, and investments in the region.

Deployment of sustainable energy systems: an agenda for cooperation, 1997-2000
Sponsor: European Commission

This project aimed to capitalize upon research undertaken in European countries in the fields of renewable energy, and mitigation of air pollution, through building knowledge networks between European and Asian counterparts. This was effected through preparation of discussion papers, workshops and posting all information and papers on a dedicated web site, as also through a newsletter titled Sustainable Energy Systems in Asia.

The paper underlined the issues and challenges involved, highlighting promising trends, effective response strategies and identifying future directions and associated opportunities for the private enterprise. One of the primary objectives of this exercise was to identify possible linkages between private enterprises in Europe and Asia, to effect solutions that were in synchronization with “sustainable development”.

This project was primarily undertaken by TERI, with involvement of four AEI members from China, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Thailand

National policies for energy: implications of and opportunities from the Framework Convention on Climate Change Convention, 1995-96
Sponsor: Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark

The study examined the complementaries and potential conflicts between national energy policies and global environmental concerns, taking the case of six Asian countries.

Workshop on National policies for energy: implications of and opportunities from the Framework Convention on Climate Change Convention, 19-23 July 1993
Sponsor: MacArthur Foundation

This workshop resulted in a proposal for a study on the subject, which was eventually funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark.

Climate Change in Asia and Brazil: the role of technology transfer, 1992
Sponsor: The Rockefeller Foundation - New York; USAID and, DANIDA - Denmark

This collaborative study examined the role for the transfer of energy-efficient technologies – specifically cogeneration and efficient lighting – in the context of climate change. The outputs of this study were reviewed at a workshop held from 20-24 April in 1992 in Bellagio, Italy.

Global Warming: collaborative study on strategies to limit CO2 emissions in Asia and Brazil
Sponsor: UN Conference on Environment and Development; ECOFUND; CICERO-Norway and DANIDA-Denmark

The overall aim of the study was to identify and evaluate existing and emerging technologies to limit CO2 emissions for different sectors of the economies of the participated countries. These technologies which were to be implemented by the year 2000 were broadly classified as follows:

improvements in energy efficiency and energy conservation
a shift to lower carbon fuels such as natural gas and greater use of renewable resources such as hydro, solar, wind, etc.
afforestation to sequester atmospheric carbon

Each participating country developed a CERI curve (Cost of emission reduction initiative), which was one of the first initiatives in Asian countries to undertake such an analysis.

The work was reviewed at a workshop held on 21-22 September 1991 at New Delhi, India, and experts from IIASA, USAID, and CICERO were intimately involved in the review process.

Workshop on Energy environment interface in Asia, 12-14 October 1990 held at Jaipur, India
Sponsor: Institute of Energy Economics - Japan and the Rockefeller Foundation – New York.

This was the first professional activity of the AEI. Among various research topics that were identified for collaborative research between the institutions of the AEI, the subject of greenhouse gas emissions and their containment was placed on high priority. Given the importance of this subject, particularly in the context of UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in 1992, it was decided that before launching a meaningful collaborative research project, some basic state of the art analysis pertaining to the countries involved would be most valuable. It was with this intention the two workshops were structured and organized under the banner of the AEI at Jaipur, India and Bellagio, Italy respectively towards the end of 1990.

Global warming: mitigation strategies and perspectives from Asia and Brazil. 1989
Sponsor: Institute of Energy Economics - Japan and the Rockefeller Foundation – New York

The AEI members undertook a collaborative study on Asia’s and Brazil’s contributions to GHG (Greenhouse gas) emissions and policy responses for their minimization, results of which were published in this study.