Role of regional cooperation and integration in resolving energy insecurity in South Asia

Abstract

This chapter is part of the book titled Energy Insecurity in Asia: Challenges, Solutions, and Renewable Energy, which provides insightful case studies and offers practical policy recommendations for solving energy insecurity in Asia and in other regions.

Energy security is a critical issue due to its limited availability, uneven distribution, ever-increasing demand, and the energy dependency of all sorts of economic developments around the world. Asia is poorly placed in terms of energy security; while there is a lack of conventional energy resources, wide disparity also exists in Asia in terms of energy security across regions and between and within countries. The last 3 decades have witnessed a growing interest in fostering regional integration in Asia, with the establishment of institutions such as the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation forum, the Free Trade Area, ASEAN, and the ASEAN Regional Forum. However, developing Asia still lacks conceptual frameworks, as well as practical action frameworks, at the national, subregional, and regional levels for enhancing long-term energy security. This study proposes a mixture of frameworks through the active participation of both private and public sectors at different levels, like enhancing regional cooperation for sharing both “soft (knowledge, R&D, technology, etc.) and hard (money and other physical resources) infrastructure” in the energy sector. At the same time, increasing the capacity at the national and subregional levels by improving governance and sharing knowledge and technology is crucial to promote resource-centred strategies for enhancing energy security in Asia.