Find below the most interesting news from the last months from South East Asia and the Pacific on “Policy Developments”, “Project Developments “, “Access to Finance”, “Energy for All” and “Information and Tools”:

Policy Developments:

• June Special Forum Energy Ministers Meeting on Pacific energy security:
  Concerned about the impact of energy prices on Pacific economies, Energy ministers gathered urgently in Brisbane to examine which ways in which Pacific Island countries can achieve greater energy security. >> Read the article >> Read the Brisbane communiqué >> Further information
  
• Tackling energy security in the Pacific:
  Energy officers, national planning experts and utility representatives from the Pacific Islands and Territories met in Nouméa, New Caledonia to discuss SPC’s role in the energy sector and agree on a new Framework for Action on Energy Security in the Pacific (FAESP). >> Read the article
  
• Tonga Energy Road Map completed:
  Along with its development partners, Tonga has completed the final draft of the Tonga Energy Road Map (TERM). The Government’s main goal is to reduce Tonga’s dependency on fossil fuels by 50% by 2012, comprising of a series of measures including renewable energies and energy efficiency. >> Read the article
• Tonga Energy Road Map: What does it mean for the Tongan tourism industry?:
  A meeting was held in Nuku’alofa to discuss ways in which the Tongan tourism industry can benefit from the recent Tonga Energy Road Map. >> Read more
• Marshall Islands and Columbia Law School Center tackling Climate Change Law:
  The drowning of Island Nations is becoming a burning issue related to climate change. In order to tackle it properly, the Columbia Law School Center for Climate Change Law will be convening a conference at Columbia Law School in the spring of 2011. Legal scholars and practitioners from around the world are invited to come together to explore and examine this issue. Those wishing to write papers for the conference are to submit abstracts by 1 September 2010. >> More details
• Discussions about implementation of the Mauritius Strategy:
  At the 18^th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD 18), delegates drew on the Secretary General’s report to define a framework for the Cancun Climate Change Conference (November 2010). One of the main suggestions consisted in the establishment of SIDS (Small Island Developing States) as a special category within the UN system. >> Read the article

Project Developments:

• A new association for sustainable energy in the Pacific gets the green light:
  A new association for sustainable energy in the Pacific will deliver greater support to the clean energy players in countries such as the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tonga and Tuvalu, while helping to raise the standard of local installations in the process. >> Read more
  
• Making Fiji a low-carbon tourism destination:
  According to may 2009 World Economic Forum report Towards a Low Carbon Travel and Tourism Sector, “tourism destinations that proactively work on sustainability initiatives will be better positioned than their competitors to survive”.  >> Read more
  
• REEEP Low Carbon Tourism invited to deliver key note international address at this year’s Fiji Tourism Forum (FTF):
  Joining the sustainability journey of “Environment and Economy”, a presentation will be made on Friday 20 August 2010 in line with the Forum’s topic of “Tourism: Inspiring Fiji’s future – stepping forward into tomorrow”. >> Read more
  
• Barefoot Power Lamp:
  The Barefoot Power Lamp provides a small compact LED light that is bright enough to read by, simple and robust so that it needs very little maintenance, and is powered with a detachable solar cell. Barefoot Power presented on New Inventors in July. >> Watch the New Inventors episode about the Barefoot Power Lamp
  
• CBD completes Chatham Islands Wind Project, 20 year revenue starts:
  Australian diversified renewable energy company, CBD Energy, has completed its wind turbine project on Chatham Islands, 800 km east of Christchurch, New Zealand. >> Read the media release
• Thailand’s new solar plant system:
  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved investment in a 73-megawatt solar power plant in central Thailand. The plant will be central to Thailand’s efforts to generate much more of its energy from domestic, renewable sources. >> Read more
  
• Indian women’s self-help group becoming solar entrepreneur:
  In a tangible example of how REEEP project funding helps to make a difference to poor households at the micro-level, a women’s self-help group (SHG) in the Chittur district of India’s Andhra Pradesh is becoming a solar entrepreneur, providing solar-powered lighting points for street vendors. >> Read more
• GERES Cambodia’s improved cook stove project reaches 1 million stoves:
  By combining a traditional, local stove design with a modern knowledge of combustion and thermal exchange, GERES managed to improve Cambodians’ lives while preserving the environment. >> Read the news

Access to Finance:

• Microfinance Training for Pacific Islanders:
  Five representatives from the Reserve or Central Banks in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, and two representatives from microfinance institutions in Fiji will be the first group of Pacific Islanders to attend the Boulder Institute of Microfinance training that will be held in Turin, Italy from 19 July to 6 August
  2010. >> Read more
  
• CDM Executive Board – new additionality rules:
  The CDM Executive Board agreed to approve new guidelines for simplified modalities for demonstrating additionality for project activities up to 5MW that employ renewable energy as their primary technology and for energy efficiency project activities that aim to achieve energy savings at a scale of no more than 20GWh per year, and that in particular in least developed countries (LDCs) and small island states (SIDS). >> Read more
• APEC’s request for proposals:
  The APEC Expert Group on Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EGEE&C) is requesting proposals for their Mapping Exercise of Energy Efficient Products project. Deadline for submission 30 July 2010. >> Read more
• ADB invests in Clean Development Fund for the Greater Mekong subregion:
  ADB aims at investing in at least 10 clean energy and environment projects by 2014, through the Mekong Brahmaputra Clean Development Fund. >> Read the news
  
• Asia-Pacific Network’s annual call for proposals:
  The APN is inviting proposals under two separate programs, the ARCP Programme & the CAPaBLE Programme, for funding from April 2011 and is able to provide a limited amount of financial support for research and capacity development activities. >> Read more
  
• Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency scholarships available for courses in Germany:
  Renewables Academy (RENAC) from Berlin offers courses in 2010 through their TREE2010 seminars for employees of ministries and parliamentary administrations, who are responsible for the elaboration of laws and policy frameworks for renewable energies and energy efficiency, to enable knowledge transfer of technologies, project financing and development of political and legal frameworks. >> Read more
  
• UNECE Energy Efficiency Project to establish investment fund:
  The Group of Experts on Energy Efficiency Investments for Climate Change Mitigation of the UN Economic Commission for Europe agreed to establish a UNECE-sponsored private-public partnership investment fund for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. >> Read more
  
• 2010 Global Development Awards and Medals Competition – Channeling Finance to Sustainable Development:
  The Global Development Network, supported by the Ministry of Finance and Government of Japan, encourages each year various development projects by awarding them research and travel grants. Apply before 9 September 2010 or 18 October 2010 depending on the award aimed at. >> Read more and apply

Energy for All

• Barefoot Power wins product award prizes at international off-grid lighting conference:
  Barefoot Power won product awards in all tested categories for off-grid lighting products in a competition at an international conference on off-grid lighting held in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference was organized by the Lighting Africa program of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is part of the World Bank Group. >> Read more
  
• SNV among the 2010 Ashden Awards prize winners for sustainable energy:
  SNV Vietnam was rewarded for its innovation in tackling the twin problem of dangerous cooking practices and untreated animal waste. In partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, SNV launched a programme to convert the waste into energy via biogas digesters. >> Read more
  
• SNV-supported biogas programs benefitting Nepal, Cambodia, Laos & Vietnam:
  The biogas that is produced is 50-70% methane by volume, similar to natural gas, and a convenient source of clean energy. The biogas is easily collected and stored for lighting, cooking and other household uses. There is no downside.  No waste.  No poisonous residues or batteries.  No moving parts. >> Read more
• E4All Steering Committee:
  The Steering Committee for Energy for All elected a new co-chair, the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore, during an E4All meeting on 22 June 2010 which was held in association with the Asia Clean Energy Forum in Manila 23-25 June 2010.
• Asia Clean Energy Forum 2010:
  Co-sponsored by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), ACEF continues to be the premier event in Asia where policymakers, project developers, technical experts and representatives of the private sector come together to share knowledge and discuss up-to-date developments in clean energy in the region. >> Read some voices from the forum >> Updates from the ACEF

Information & Tools

• Ban Ki-Moon chooses Christina Figueres to take on the UNFCCC Executive Secretariat:
  Figueres of Costa Rica commenced her new duties on 8 July 2010, becoming the fourth UNFCCC Executive Secretary.  >> Read the news
  
• Aarhus Convention focuses on public participation under the UNFCCC:
  Basing their workshop on public participation in the lead up to, during and after the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference of 2009, working groups at the Aarhus Convention discussed the case study of the UNFCCC. They noted its effort in integrating observer organizations in its processes. >> Read the article
• UNIDO recommends public-private partnerships to boost access to energy:
  “Governments alone will not be able to deal with the challenges”. The potential of new public-private partnerships to enhance energy access and efficiency topped the discussions by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s high-level advisory group on the nexus between energy and climate change. >> Read more
• UNEP report shows growing global trend in green energy:
  In 2009, for the second year in a row, both the US and Europe added more power capacity from renewable sources such as wind and solar than from conventional sources like coal, gas and nuclear. Countries with policies encouraging renewable energy have also roughly doubled from 55 in 2005 to more than 100 today – half of them being in the developing world. >> Read more
• Cancun preparing COP 16:
  Patricia Espinosa, Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Chair of the upcoming session of COP 16, stressed the need for dialogue with Island States as a key component of the forthcoming UN event.  >> Read the news
• Economic trends and peculiarities in the BASIC countries: an obstacle to clean energy investment:
  The strong influence owned by customers and competitors in the global market place surely slows down the clean energy investment stimulation. However, according to the Carbon Disclosure Project Report, national government policy and framework legislation still affect the most the aspirations for greater energy efficiency and use of renewable Energy.  >> Read the article >> Download the report
• Renewable energy produced electricity expands in EU:
  If current growth rates are maintained, in 2020 up to 1400 TWh of electricity could be generated from renewable sources, accounting for approximately 35-40% of overall electricity consumption in the EU. >> Read the article
  
• Energy efficiency training for architects:
  The World Bank estimates that by 2015, half of the world’s new building construction will take place in China. The nation’s eleventh five-year plan (2005-2010) aims for a 50% reduction in building energy consumption, and related new policy measures include energy efficiency (EE) standards and labeling for buildings. >> Read more
• Asia, the world’s future solar energy leader:
  As most of the Asian and Pacific countries are well-suited to solar power, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) wishes to catalyse investments in the region. Such a transition in developing Asia would then inevitably spread to other developing parts of the world, engaging a positive domino effect. >> Read the article

  Ms. Schaefer-Preuss, Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development, added that “Solar power has the potential to promote low-carbon growth, ensure energy security, increase access to energy for all and achieve ADB’s overall objective of poverty reduction”. >> Read more

• AWEA points out forthcoming growth of small wind turbine market:
  Small wind turbines are electric generators that utilize wind energy to produce clean, emissions-free power for individual homes, farms, and small businesses. With this simple and increasingly popular technology, individuals can generate their own power and cut their energy bills while helping to protect the environment. While the U.S. already leads the world in the production of small wind turbines, the market is expected to continue strong growth through the next decade.>> Read the full study
  
• Climate Spectator:
  Climate Spectator is a new website that will seek to cover not just the science and politics of climate change, but also the key business parameters. >> Click here to register and subscribe to the daily newsletter
  
• Free-of-charge clean energy software: RETScreen:
  The RETScreen Clean Energy Project Analysis Software is a unique decision support tool developed with the contribution of numerous experts from government, industry, and academia. The software, provided free-of-charge, can be used worldwide to evaluate the energy production and savings, costs, emission reductions, financial viability and risk for various types of Renewable-energy and Energy-efficient Technologies (RETs). The software (available in multiple languages) also includes product, project, hydrology and climate databases, a detailed user manual, and a case study based college/university-level training course, including an engineering e-textbook. >> Visit the website and download RETScreen