South Asia has significant potential for renewable energy, be it hydropower, solar pv or wind. The region’s diversity, however, requires a closer look in order to identify opportunities and understand the specific challenges. Therefore, KAS’ Regional Programme Energy Security and Climate Change Asia Pacific (KAS RECAP) in cooperation with the Consortium of South Asian Think-Tanks (COSATT) initiated a publication with papers from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
For the publication’s official launch, KAS RECAP and COSATT invited the authors as well as additional experts to Bangkok, Thailand, to discuss the publication’s findings and disseminate them to a wider audience. The 2-day event kicked-off at the Asian Institute for Technology (AIT) Conference Center. The authors, coming from the seven South Asian countries covered by the publication, presented the respective status quo and future opportunities for renewable energy development and expansion in their countries.
In addition, the need for and challenges of greater regional cooperation were discussed, and recommendations made on how policy and improved institutional arrangements can promote renewable energy, and thus sustainable development, in South Asia. In three Q&A sessions, experts and students from AIT joined the discussions bringing forward both questions and relevant comments.
On the event’s second day, the authors visited the German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG) to further broaden the event’s regional perspective and facilitate additional networking opportunities with seasoned experts on South Asia. Based on a presentation by CPG’s Director on Situating Renewable Energy in the Corporate Sustainability framework, the participants discussed the challenges of reconciling regional cooperation for renewables and sustainable development with the often-complex geopolitical contexts in South Asia.
The publication is expected to contribute to enhancing the understanding of renewable energy and sustainable development in South Asia, and will certainly prove useful to academics, researchers and practitioners alike. The successful launch event has helped to further disseminate the publication and its findings.
For more information and to download the publication, please click here.
