|
Energy efficiency key to progress
Government policies should encourage power saving and urge investment in energy-efficient technologies for sustainable development.
 |
| A staff member of HCM City's Energy Saving Centre describes the biodiesel production process to customers. UNIDO suggests Government policies should encourage power saving and investment in energy-efficient technologies for sustainable development. |
This was one of recommendations of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) to developing countries like Viet Nam at the launch of its Industrial Development Report 2011 in Ha Noi yesterday.
At the workshop, UNIDO Managing Director Wilfried Luetkenhorst stressed that industrial energy efficiency was essential in strengthening economies, protecting ecosystems and achieving social benefits.
The report showed that manufacturing industries world-wide spent about US$1 trillion a year on energy, about 55 per cent of it in developing countries.
Industrial production alone accounted for about 25 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions from all sources globally, which resulted in environment pollution and climate change.
Sustainable energy production should be the first consideration for a country to achieve sustainable growth, he added, especially in developing countries experiencing increasing energy consumption.
A representative from the Viet Nam Institute of Energy said the use of energy in industry in Viet Nam remained wasteful and that efficiency was still low, which could be attributed to outdated manufacturing technologies.
According to Ministry of Industry and Trade statistics, it cost the country about 600 kilogrammes of oil to generate US$1,000 of gross domestic product (GDP) on average, two times higher than the average world rate.
Energy inefficiency could be seen in thermoelectric plants using coal and oil for power generation, for instance, with a rate of 10 per cent lower than that in the rest of the world. The efficiency rate of industrial boilers only reached 60 per cent, 20 per cent lower than the world average.
"The low price of energy is another cause, which never encourage energy savings because enterprises do not have to pay much for energy consumption," he said.
He added that a more reasonable energy price was needed in order to raise the concern of manufacturing enterprises about energy savings.
According to UNIDO, outdated technologies should be replaced by advanced systems to prevent energy waste, to protect the environment and urge investment in carrying out scientific research on energy-efficient technologies.
Other tools such as emission taxes and policies to encourage energy saving could also help improve the situation.
According to the ministry, Viet Nam's production energy saving potential could be up to 20 per cent of the total energy consumption.
Under the Viet Nam Energy Efficiency and Conservation Programme, approved by the Government, the country targeted to save 5 – 8 per cent of total national energy consumption in 2011-15.
vietnamnews
|
