IMF chief urges Asia-Pacific nations to save energy
IMF chief urges Asia-Pacific nations to save energy
Agence France-Presse, Santiago
IMF head Rodrigo Rato said Wednesday that Asia-Pacific economies need to conserve energy because of rising oil prices as representatives from 21 APEC nations gathered for a finance ministers' meeting in Santiago.
"We believe it wrong to offer fiscal incentives to consume energy, moreover of imported energy, and policies ... should clearly translate into consumer conservation of energy," Rato said.
Oil prices jumped again Wednesday, with New York prices closing at US$44 a barrel, after an announcement that U.S. crude stocks had dropped for the fifth straight week raised supply worries.
Ministers and other top officials from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum will open a two day meeting on Thursday to discuss capital volatility and fiscal stabilization, as well as high oil prices.
Representatives of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Inter American Development Bank and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean will also attend the meeting in the Chilean capital.
"We stand before a new energy landscape, so all of us must consider ourselves in a situation that will not change, neither in the short or long term," Rato said.
Japan's Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said Japan's fuel- efficient economy is resilient to oil price hikes, but cautioned that more surges would likely hurt developing Asian countries and in turn Japan.
"I believe APEC ministers have an interest in how high oil prices would affect the regional economy," he said before heading to Santiago, according to Kyodo News Service.
"I expect that developments in China's economy will also be discussed," Tanigaki told reporters.
Ministers will work to seek ways to make international financial bodies monitor major cyclical phenomena such as the Asian crisis of 1997-1998, and rush financial support to economies in need before such disturbances worsen.
APEC comprises Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.
The area embraces 2.5 billion consumers and an economy of US$19 trillion.
APEC is to hold its annual summit in Chile on Nov. 19-21 and among leaders expected to attend are President George W. Bush of the United States, President Hu Juntao of China, President Vladimir Putin of Russia and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan.