Resolution on Sustainable Energy
24th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF)
Vancouver, Canada January 17-21, 2016
Resolution on Sustainable Energy
APPF24/RES/07
(Sponsored by Malaysia)
The 24th Annual Meeting of the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum;
Reaffirming resolution APPF22/RES/11 on Energy Security adopted during the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on 12 January 2014, and the resolution APPF21/RES/06 adopted during the 21st Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum in Vladivostok, Russia on 27 January 2013;
Taking into account the United Nations General Assembly declaration that the decade 2014–2024 as the Decade of Sustainable Energy for All, underscoring the importance of energy issues for sustainable development;
Noting that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) on energy is aimed at ensuring affordable and clean energy for sustainable development;
Bearing in mind that during the APEC Ministerial Meeting in Honolulu in November 2011, the APEC Ministers aspired to reduce the energy intensity of the APEC economies by at least 45 percent by 2035;
Acknowledging the importance of ensuring access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services supply as critical elements to securing economic growth and as a prerequisite to alleviating poverty;
Mindful that environmental protection and the promotion of social development require the adoption of sustainable energy through initiatives that promote renewable energy and the efficient use of energy resources;
Noting that sustainable energy provides investment opportunities, generates jobs and creates new markets for clean energy economies;
Recognising the challenges faced in ensuring energy sustainability in view of rising energy demand against the backdrop of declining oil prices and amidst the volatile geopolitical situation in the Middle East;
Keeping in mind that low oil and gas prices and fossil fuel subsidies encourage excessive consumption, undermine green energy and impede investment in clean energy sources;
Aware that there is a nexus between energy, the economy, the environment and societal well-being, and that there is a need for an integrated approach to manage resource scarcity by pursuing new energy resources, expanding renewable energy systems and enhancing energy efficiency;
Recognising capacity-building among APPF Member States to develop a wide variety of energy resources, such as bio-fuel, hydro power, solar power, wind power, biomass, geothermal power, tidal power, and the need to promote recycling, re-use of resources, residual management, and material recovery; carbon emissions reduction, geothermal development, and power plant efficiency improvement;
RESOLVES TO:
- Affirm to support the 2030 Agenda SDGs for economic, social and environmental sustainability, particularly access to affordable, clean and modern energy for all within sustainable means of production and distribution;
- Call upon APPF Member States, through their legislative and capacity-building activities, to provide strategic support to implement regional harmonisation of standards and commercialisation of new energy resources to reduce energy intensity;
- Accept that a green economy contributes to the eradication of poverty as well as sustained economic growth, enhancing social inclusion, improving human welfare and creating opportunities for employment and decent work for all, while maintaining the healthy functioning of the earth’s ecosystem;
- Encourage APPF Member States to strengthen cooperation through the sharing of information about public policy, expertise and best practices, incentivise joint investment, promote public-private partnerships for the development and use of cutting edge technologies that contribute to meeting the challenges of economic uncertainties, and ensure the supply of energy at efficient prices;
- Support the proposal to build an energy road map on the current and potential energy resources of the Asia-Pacific area, as well as economic and social information for better planning and policy-making decisions on energy use;
- Call upon APPF Member States to recognise the nexus of water, energy and food in fighting poverty at the local level and advancing environmental protection, and to take these factors fully into account when making energy related decision-making structures and frameworks;
- Affirm the need for the implementation of cleaner coal technologies while continuing to tap the potential of renewable energy and enhance energy efficiency;
- Endorse the need to improve access to capital, such as providing innovation funds on workable terms for new and renewable technologies that can compete with often-subsidised fossil fuels.
