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.