Intelligent Energy: How Can Europe Co-operate with South Asia?

Abstract

Energy systems in South Asia, as in most low and middle rest at a crucial intersection of policy objectives: ensuring economic growth, reducing dependence on foreign countries for imports, protecting the climate, protecting from health hazards of using biomass for cooking inflicted on the most vulnerable population segment: poor women and their children. These policy objectives are sometimes strongly conflicting; it is essential that they be transformed from the current state of energy systems in South Asia, characterised by low access to energy and electricity by the poor, inefficiency in producing, distributing and using energy, harmful health consequences of energy use (biomass cooking), high import-dependency (often on unstable countries, which raises a security issue) and enormous use of foreign currency to purchase oil and gas, in spite of rising domestic production (the case of India).