TERI hosts REEEP South Asia Secretariat's regional preparatory meeting
Discussions focussed on regional priorities in renewable energy and energy efficiency on matters relating to Policy and regulations and Business and Finance
Tweet-- The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) hosted the regional preparatory meeting of REEEP’s (Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership) South Asia Regional Secretariat to identify priority areas for the next funding round starting from 2008, deciding on priorities and plans to increase partnerships, outreach and dissemination activities in the South Asia region and to set priorities for the REEEP’s international secretariat. TERI and the Asian Energy Institute’s (AIE) engagement with REEEP stems from a deep commitment to motivate energy systems in South Asia towards sustainability and security.
Mr. Creon Butler, Minister and Deputy High Commissioner, British High Commission, New Delhi and Chair of the Steering Committee of REEEP, South Asia inaugurated the event. In his address he introduced REEEP’s key role in tackling both climate change and the development challenges faced by the world. According to him REEEP plays a crucial role in creating a compatible environment for large-scale private and public sector investment in sustainable energy. He further stated “It is through partnership initiatives like REEEP that we can make the changes in our energy systems called for by e.g. the Stern Report.” He was pleased to see the continuing increase in membership of REEEP, with the recent notable joining of Norway earlier this year, Ontario State in June and just last month Australia and would like to broaden the membership further.
Mr. Binu Parthan, Deputy Director-Programme Coordination, REEEP International Secretariat, Vienna while apprising the members on REEEP’s international activities and achievements stressed that REEEP focuses equally on the demand and supply side of energy systems - towards more sustainability and aims to reduce market and policy barriers for renewable and energy efficiency systems. “REEEP believes in action on the ground via projects that target on policy and regulation and business and finance approaches. The total REEEP project portfolio is well balanced in terms of thematic and sectoral objectives.
REEEP partners in South Asia can now define priorities for the region – Business & Finance and Policy & Regulation and identify any specific projects that we may commission,” added Mr. Parthan.
Dr. Ligia Noronha, Coordinator, REEEP South Asia Secretariat and Director, TERI, while welcoming the participants briefly explained the objectives of the meeting and was very optimistic that through its activities, REEEP South Asia will work to create greater awareness and understanding of the issues of renewable and energy efficient systems.
Mr. Debashish Mujumdar, Chairman and Managing Director, IREDA, and Ms Akanksha Chaurey, Associate Director, TERI were the lead discussants at the two parallel sessions, which focussed on regional priorities in renewable energy and energy efficiency on matters relating to Policy and regulations and Business and Finance. Mr. Shirish Garud Fellow, TERI presented an update on the South Asia’s activities done so far.
The REEEP South Asia Secretariat was established in 2005 at the Asian Energy Institute, New Delhi. The secretariat covers all seven countries in the South Asia region. Currently there are 25 REEEP partners in South Asia, out of which 7 are Indian State nodal agencies on energy efficiency & renewable energy. The states are Orissa, Karnataka, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. In addition the Applet Tribunal on Power sector regulation is also a partner. REEEP South Asia has so far supported four projects in the region through the Secretariat and five more projects are under implementation under the new Cycle. The projects cover ‘business and finance’ and ‘policy and regulation’ as two major themes. Average funding for each project is about €0.1 Million.
The recommendations from the sessions will be discussed at the Program Meeting of the International Secretariat.
Notes to Editor
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)
A dynamic and flexible organization with a global vision and a local focus, TERI was established in 1974. While in the initial period the focus was mainly on documentation and information dissemination activities, research activities in the fields of energy, environment and sustainable development were initiated towards the end of 1982. The genesis of these activities lay in TERI’s firm belief that efficient utilization of energy, sustainable use of natural resources, large–scale adoption of renewable energy technologies and reduction of all forms of waste would move the process of development towards the goal of sustainability.
All activities in TERI move from formulating local and national level strategies to suggesting global solutions to critical energy and environment-related issues. It is with this purpose that TERI has established regional centres in Bangalore, Goa, and Guwahati, and a presence in Japan, Malaysia, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates. It has also set up affiliate institutes: TERI–NA (The Energy and Resources Institute, North America) Washington DC, USA, and TERI–Europe, London, UK.
In this world of increasing globalization and buoyed by optimism generated by the success of the Indian economy, TERI moves forward to meet the challenges of the future through the pursuit of excellence embedded in its visionary charter. There are nine research divisions within TERI –
§ Policy Analysis Division
§ Energy–Environment Technology Division
§ Environmental and Industrial Biotechnology Division
§ Biotechnology and Management of Bioresources Division
§ Regulatory Studies and Governance Division
§ Action Programmes Division
§ Information Technology and Services Division
§ Sustainable Development Outreach Division
§ Technology Transfer Division