Experts suggest resilient and sustainable energy

Kathmandu / Oct 24: Experts speaking at a workshop have underscored the need of ensuring access to sustainable energy and energy safety in the settlements being raised under the post-earthquake reconstruction drive.

Programmes should be formulated in a way they would guarantee sustainable energy while developing infrastructures for the daily livelihood and poverty alleviation in the earthquake affected areas, they suggested.

They made such views while speaking at the 3-day workshop on ‘ensuring resilient and sustainable energy future: linking post earthquake reconstruction in Nepal’ begun in the capital city on Monday. The workshop is organized by Flensburg Association for Energy Management with the assistance of the Europa University Flensburg, Germany; German Academy Exchange Service, UNDP and Asian Development Bank.

Inaugurating the workshop, Minister for Population and Environment, Jaydev Joshi, said government was effortful to ensure sustainable energy to the people affected by the earthquake and climate change. Even the post-quake infrastructures would have reliable energy, he added.

Executive Director at the National Reconstruction Authority, Sushil Gyawali, said renewable energy technology would also be taken together on infrastructures development.

Former Vice-Chairman of the National Planning Commission, Prof Dr Govindraj Pokhrel, said the access to energy and the energy safety are the most integral parts while running poverty alleviation programmes and for sustainable development, because Nepali is highly prone to natural disasters.

Executive Director at Alternative Energy Promotion Centre, Ram Prasad Dhital, reminded that the government has given high priority to the renewable energy in its policy, programmes and budget. The quake-affected people’s access to energy would be guaranteed through the renewable energy, he added.

Prof Bernd Moeller from the Europa University said energy safety, sustainable energy and good governance could be the priorities in Nepal’s reconstruction activities. According to him, one fourth population in the world is still deprived of energy access.

Moreover, Chairman of Flensburg Association for Energy Management, Dr Narayan Prasad Chaulagain, made it clear that the workshop was organized in a bid to take the sustainable energy technology together with the development infrastructures on the post-disaster reconstruction.

Various persons from the country and abroad presented papers relating to the sustainable energy. RSS