Asia to lead in energy use

Asia to lead in energy use

JAKARTA (AFP): Asia and the Pacific will overtake western
countries as the world's largest energy-consuming region in 10
years time, a United Nations official said on Wednesday.

"Demand for energy services is bound to grow and current
projections estimate an annual growth rate of 3.4 percent," said
Kim Hak-Su, executive secretary of the UN Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

"In 10 years that will make Asia Pacific the largest energy-
consuming region in the world," Kim said at the opening of a
meeting on the region's energy and sustainable development in
Indonesia's resort island of Bali.

Kim said it was estimated that by 2005 the annual investment
requirements of the energy sector in East Asia alone would be in
the range of $150 billion to $200 billion.

UN figures indicate that while the world's primary energy
consumption had increased by 1.6 percent annually during the past
25 years, the Asia Pacific region recorded an increase of 2.5
percent per year.