The Regional Energy programme for Poverty Reduction (REP-PoR) was launched in early 2005 and is nearing completion. The programme is built on the premise that the right to development is universal and development is not possible without access to energy services. Hence it is imperative that universal right to modern, sustainable energy services be prioritized in development planning and policy focusing on energy access, renewable energy, and affordable energy pricing with supportive policies. Several initiatives within the energy programme have analysed regional and national level impediments to making energy access universal; they are linked to usual disconnect between energy provision and poverty reduction efforts and global energy trends. Since more than one billion people in the region have no access to electricity and more than two-thirds of the global population using traditional biomass fuel live in the Asia Pacific region, the needs and ways to address this inequity forms the basis of the programme outputs.

To this end the energy programme covered 15 countries in Asia and 15 in the Pacific region. It has completed key regional policy studies that focused on the impact of oil price rise on the poor, on the achievement of the MDGs, public policy options to protect adverse impacts on the vulnerable countries and people, promote private investments in alternative energy sources and the institutional environ that facilitate these actions.  The studies also examined policy measures to maximise benefits and protect the poor against adverse consequences of cross border trade in energy resources. These evidence based analytical pieces have contributed to an advocacy report, Poor in a Changing World of Energy (soon to be launched). It will provide realistic coping strategies through country specific references.

In addition, country level assessments have examined components of the energy-poverty nexus, energy-poverty-gender nexus and energy security for the poor, in the light of the global energy supply security crisis. Country studies for Bangladesh, Cambodia, Malaysia, Nepal, and the Philippines are finalized and will be published shortly. This will be followed by the publications of the remaining countries.
 
A supplement to REP-PoR’s policy studies and country reports is a Compendium of Good Practices for Energy Access. It is a collation of UNDP country office experiences carried out with the hypothesis that energy-poverty focused projects have direct impacts at local efforts of meeting the MDGs. These cases provide a wealth of information on lessons and guidelines by referring to best/worst practices in the use of renewable energy technology, energy efficiency options, pricing and regulatory mechanisms, and market penetration.

As part of REP-PoR’s advocacy work, a stand alone analysis, Will tomorrow be brighter than today? Addressing Gender Concerns in Energy for Poverty Reduction in the Asia-Pacific Region, on key gender issues in energy for poverty reduction has been completed. The absence of gender-sensitivity in programme/project planning and development as well as in monitoring and evaluation emerged as a common issue across the region and the report provides a number of policy options to mainstream gender concerns in national processes. Based on this work, REP-PoR is currently working with the International Network on Gender and Sustainable Energy (ENERGIA) and the Asia Energy-Gender Network, in designing an Energy and Gender Training package for practitioners.

The programme approach has been one of unique partnership with the country offices in the region troughout the design phase and implementation along with their national counterpart agencies, the UNDP Regional Centre in Colombo (RCC), the UNDP Bureau for Development Policy (BDP) in New York and regional expert agencies viz The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI, India), Energy and Resources Group (ERG Bangladesh), the Winrock International and the Econ Analysis (Norway) and ENERGIA.

The above outputs are expected to support energy access to poverty reduction at 4 different levels:
Regional Cooperation: provide space for dialogue. Regional platforms also increase visibility, helping in prioritizing and increasing awareness of actions to support universal energy access and energy security;

National Programmes: improve national frameworks leading to integrated energy planning in development process;

Private Sector Engagement:  there is considerable interest and willingness to engage in discussions on greener energy business for SMEs and decentralized energy access;

Community Action:  adopt a ‘people-centred’ approach, reaching beyond the technical issues, to deliver energy services that meet people’s needs and priorities and to ensure that communities have a voice in the decision-making process on how to meet their energy needs.

For more information:
Nandita Mongia
Programme Coordinator
Regional Energy Programme for Poverty Reduction (REP-PoR)
Regional Centre in Bangkok
E.mail: nandita.mongia@undp.org