Bangkok, Thailand. Energy and environmental issues are at the forefront of concerns in ASEAN. In this regard, the International Seminar on the Effectiveness of Best Available Environmental Technologies held on 6 June 2014 is an important event that provided a venue for discussion and debate on the key role of technologies in sustaining economic development.

Organized by the ASEAN - METI Economic and Industrial Cooperation Committee (AMEICC) secretariat in Bangkok, Thailand, the seminar attracted 21 senior government officials from ASEAN countries and discussed successful initiatives and examples of absorbing best available technologies. Dr. Venkatachalam Anbumozhi, Energy Economist at the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), was invited as Keynote Speaker. Sharing the results of ERIA Energy Outlook studies, he emphasized the need to see energy as an integrated solution to the economic and environmental woes surrounding the ASEAN countries.

Dr. Anbumozhi also said that the obligation of ASEAN governments in the coming decades is to increase the access to and improve the reliability of modern renewable and clean coal technologies. Citing some examples, he noted that Japan already offers a set of policy initiatives and effective institutions to promote the diffusion of successful technologies in emission control and pollution prevention. He likewise presented the landscape of the energy supply and demand in the region and the opportunity to learn the effectiveness of best available technologies, goods and services towards achieving a sustainable development scenario.

During the open discussion that followed, the participants identified various areas where ASEAN-Japan cooperation could potentially bring needed energy and environmental outcomes. At the same time, they agreed with the observation of one participant that field visits and capacity building programs that promote public and private partnerships within and across the border are critical for advancing such technologies in the ASEAN countries.