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16 Janaury 2007 - Efforts to cut east Asia's reliance on oil and gas imports, agreed at the close of yesterday's regional summit, look set to provide a boost to south-east Asia's expanding biofuels industry.
Leaders at the 16-nation east Asian summit agreed the region should explore the use of hydropower and nuclear power as alternatives to oil, but officials said biofuels would probably attract the most immediate attention.
The moves towards alternative supplies and better conservation provided the most noteworthy outcome of the summit, which embraced the ten-member Association of South East Asian Nations and included China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. During the talks, Japan also proposed financing a feasibility study on turning the group, which has focused on political consultations, into a free trade area.
Raphael Lotilla, the Philippines' energy secretary, said the east Asian countries had agreed to adopt common standards on biofuels used in engines and motor vehicles and to promote freer trade in biofuels and the vehicles that use them.
"The first step is to come up with national standards. Other countries such as Japan don't produce biofuels and would like some time to come up with their own standards," he said. "Between temperate and tropical countries, there are differences that we have to take into account."
The energy agreement was broadly worded and set no concrete targets, in contrast to the European Union's energy proposals unveiled last week, which aimed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 per cent.
Helen Clark, the New Zealand prime minister, told Reuters it was inappropriate, however, to compare the Asean and EU plans too closely. "This is very early days in the east Asia context to be talking about targets," she said. The EU has commitments to cut emissions under the Kyoto protocol, while many of the east Asian countries have not signed up to the accord.
Under the Asean proposals, reduced tariffs on vehicles that can run on biofuels as well as petrol or diesel will be included in the group's trade liberalisation pact from 2010.
China and the Philippines plan to sign bilateral agreements on bio-ethanol production during this week's state visit by Wen Jiabao, the Chinese prime minister. The Beidahuang Group, China's biggest agricultural investor, plans to set up a plant on the northern Philippines island of Luzon to produce ethanol from sugar and other crops.
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