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The 9th GTI Energy Board Meeting and ESCAP-GTI Seminar on Energy Cooperation held on 7-8 July 2021
2021/7/28 11:09:49 Views:

 

 

The 9th GTI Energy Board Meeting back to back with the ESCAP-GTI Seminar on Energy Cooperation in North-East Asia:Regional Power Trade and Connectivity was held on 7-8 July 2021 in the format of a video conference. The event was successfully organized with the support from UNESCAP East and North-East Asia Office as the co-organizer, as well as the National Energy Administration of China as the chair of GTI Energy Board. 

 

The ESCAP-GTI Seminar reviewed the policies and plans of North-East Asia countries in increasing the use of renewable energy, as well as discussed technical and regulatory challenges for stable and effective use of renewable energy and opportunities for regional cooperation. Experts also shared faced difficulties and experiences from the existing power connectivity mechanisms including SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) and IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency) Latin America and Caribbean to provide suggestions for the development of regional power trade and interconnections in North-East Asia.

 

The 9th GTI Energy Board Meeting reviewed the progress of the GTI regional energy cooperation, as well as current trends and policies in member countries on Affordable and Clean Energy, Carbon Neutrality and Hydrogen Economy, and shared the suggestions for further cooperation. Members uniformly adopted the ESCAP and Mongolia co-proposed project proposal on Capacity Building Needs Assessment for Effective Power Interconnection Cooperation in North-East Asia and the Work Plan for 2021-2022.

 

After reaffirming the common vision on further cooperation on energy and clean energy such as hydrogen in Northeast Asia, Russia assumed the Chairmanship of the GTI Energy Board for 2022.

 

Annex: Presentations from members on regional energy cooperation focusing on Affordable and Clean Energy, Carbon Neutrality and Hydrogen Economy

 

(China) Mr. Wang Jun (Deputy Division Director, International Department of China Electric Power Planning & Engineering Institute) introduced the current status as well as the prospect of carbon neutrality, renewable energy and hydrogen economy development in China. He further briefed on the future actions of China and suggested to 1) strengthen communication and coordination of clean energy policies; 2) strengthen cooperation in R&D and innovation of clean and low carbon technologies; 3) make full use of the existing energy cooperation mechanisms to strengthen international energy cooperation.

 

(Russia) Ms. Nelly Segizova (General Director, Smart City Tech Group) shared the idea of intensification of the international cooperation in the field of hydrogen energy with the creation of an electro-hydrogen system in North-east Asia, which requires multi-stakeholder coordinated strategies contributing to technical, economic and political cooperation among members, such as developing energy production infrastructure, financial instruments and legal frameworks, and conducting joint R&D, information exchange and capacity building. She then elaborated on the strategic prerequisites for prospects of hydrogen technologies development in Russia and regional cooperation, to use hydrogen for refuelling freight transport and as temporary energy reserves in remote areas. The task of developing hydrogen energy is enshrined in the updated Energy Strategy of the Russian Federation until 2035, which mainly aims to increase the energy efficiency of the electric power industry based on the use of renewable energy sources. The progress and experience of the working group under the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation for developing hydrogen energy, and the action plan for the development of hydrogen energy until 2024 were also presented. Although there are various challenges in integrating renewable energy sources into energy supply systems, she encouraged the cooperation in electricity and hydrogen technologies in North-east Asia, which may trigger initiatives to ensure safety standards in the commercialization of hydrogen technologies, to reduce the environmental impact of energy systems, and contribute towards energy transition by increasing security.

 

(Mongolia) Mr. Yeren-Ulzii Batmunkh (Head, Investment and Production Division, Department of Policy Planning, Ministry of Energy) introduced the ambitious targets to support SDGs and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions including new National Development Contribution (NDC), Mid-term Energy Program up to 2030 and Vision-2050 Long-term Development Policy of Mongolia. Specifically, the action plan of Vision-2050 is divided into three phases: 2021-2030, to construct new energy infrastructure and expand existing one; 2031-2040, to increase the share of energy resources in the industry mix and making Mongolia an exporting country; 2041-2050, to minimize GHG emissions. To promote regional energy cooperation, it was suggested to advance constructing high voltage transmission lines and installing new wind power and solar stations, introducing a smart grid, completing a feasibility study for the pipeline transporting natural gas from Russia to China, and identifying measures to increase citizens’ access to the decentralized heating system. He called upon the member states to mobilize the financial and political will to accelerate movement towards the goal of clean energy cooperation via concrete and quantitative measures.

 

(ROK) To be shared later.