Sustained economic growth and increasing population in the East Asia Summit (EAS) region are the two major drivers responsible for the doubling energy demand in 2013–2040. The increase of energy demand threatens energy security and the effort to curb carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. These common energy challenges will need to be addressed through concerted efforts, including collective measures and actions to rapidly develop and deploy energy efficiency and saving, high-efficient and low-emission coal-fired power plant technology, and nuclear safety, and to double the share of renewable energy to the overall energy mix for inclusive and sustainable development. The energy outlook and energy saving potential present the balance of energy best-mix based on each country’s policy and targets, and predict the pattern of future energy consumption. The outlook showed that primary energy supply in the EAS region is projected to grow at 2.2 percent per year, as compared to final energy consumption grows at 2.3 percent per year. In absolute amount, EAS primary energy supply is projected to increase from 5,257 Mtoe in 2013 to 9,517 Mtoe in 2040. Coal will remain the largest share of primary energy supply, although its share is projected to decline from 52 percent in 2013 to 44.8 percent in 2040. For the Alternative Policy Scenario (APS) where it was set to examine the potential impact of additional energy efficiency goals, action plans, or policies that are being, or likely to be, considered in EAS region, showed that the total saving potentials in primary energy supply is expected to be 1,491 Mtoe, a consumption reduction from 9,518 Mtoe in BAU to 8,026 Mtoe in APS. This saving potential represents a 15.7 percent reduction from BAU to APS. The energy saving potential is brought about by improvements in both the transformation sector, particularly power generation, and the final energy consumption sector where efficiencies of household appliances and more efficient building designs are expected. The findings of this study would continue to set light towards policy implications for decision‐making to ensure that the region could enjoy both economic growth and investment opportunities without compromising energy security and environmental problems resulting from rising CO_2 emissions.
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