ASEAN cop-out: it's nuclear, 'clean coal' and business as usual

Bad news from Singapore yesterday. Reneging on commitments to strengthen renewable energy development given at last year's meeting, this year's Association of South East Nations (ASEAN) energy ministers' conference ended in a colossal cop-out when they announced plans to develop both new nuclear and 'clean coal' power plants.

In stark contrast to assurances given before the meeting that its focus would be on energy security, climate change and sustainable development, ASEAN opted instead for the false and dangerous distractions of nuclear and clean coal. Even worse, their final communiqué contained no concrete energy efficiency targets. The only positive move was a commitment to produce 10 per cent of the region's power from renewables by 2010 - reiterating a vow made in 2004 which none of the member countries appear as yet to be taking seriously.

Wrong energy choices made now will take decades to overturn - time that we just don't have before climate change becomes irreversible. And the irony is twofold: not only are ASEAN's developing member nations likely to be among those most severely effected by catastrophic disruption of the climate, but South East Asia is home to some of the largest renewable energy resources in the world.

The Philippines , for example, has the potential for 100,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity derived mainly from geothermal and wind power; Indonesia has the potential for 100,000MW, mainly from biomass and geothermal; while Thailand has a potential 14,000MW, mainly from biomass - capable of supplying 30 per cent of country's energy needs in the next decade.

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