July 30, 2015
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies are all set to converge in Cebu this coming October as the Philippines, led by the Department of Energy, takes pride in hosting the 12th Energy Ministers Meeting (EMM12).
This year’s theme “Towards an Energy Resilient APEC Community,” augurs well for vulnerable economies as Philippine Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla recalls the disasters that previously hit a number of areas in the APEC region: Hurricane Katrina (US, 2005), Tabasco and Chiapas Floods (Mexico, 2007), Sumatra Earthquake (Indonesia, 2009), Tohoku Earthquake (Japan, 2011), and Typhoon Haiyan (Philippines, 2013). “Learning from the experiences of APEC economies and other nations over the years, it is high time to shift our goal of sustainable development to focus on mitigating the impacts of disasters and natural calamities on our energy infrastructures,” Sec. Petilla said.
Recognizing this global concern, the APEC EMM12 tables for discussion various best practices on climate-proofing energy infrastructures, avenues for promoting cutting edge energy efficiency technologies, community-based clean energies to help alleviate poverty, and most importantly, energy trade and investment in the APEC community.
This follows the Beijing Declaration of the APEC economies at the 11th Energy Ministers Meeting held on Sept 2-3, 2014 in China, reaffirming their commitment to further strengthen cooperation to address the twin challenges of energy security and sustainable development.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a regional economic forum established in 1989 to leverage the growing interdependence of the Asia-Pacific.
APEC economies include: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, United States, and Vietnam.
APEC's 21 members aim to create greater prosperity for the people of the region by promoting balanced, inclusive, sustainable, innovative and secure growth and by accelerating regional economic integration.