ADB to Invest on Clean Energy Projects in Mekong Region

Dec. 18 – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to invest US$15 million for clean energy projects in the Greater Mekong Subregion and South Asia.

The money will be used to support companies doing business in renewable energy, energy efficiency, water conservation and waste recycling projects. An estimated 10 clean energy and environment projects will be in place by 2014.

The Greater Mekong Subregion and South Asia are still lagging behind in terms of access to modern forms of energy. Around 80 percent of residents in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 83 percent of households in Cambodia, and more than 50 percent in Vietnam still rely on burning wood for fuel.

Efforts to slow or reverse climate change have been escalating in the past years with concerns that increasing greenhouse gas emissions coud endanger the homes and livelihood in Asia and the Pacific.

“Further economic development in the Greater Mekong Subregion and South Asia requires greater access to energy. We must help meet this demand for energy in a way that is sustainable and doesn’t further damage the environment,” Philip Erquiaga, Director General of the Private Sector Operations Department at ADB said in a statement.