Subject: The Pacific Regional Data Repository for Sustainable Energy for All (PRDR for SE4ALL)

Background

  1. In February 2013, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) convened an Expert Group Meeting in Suva, Fiji on assessing the Affordability of Sustainable Energy Options in the ESCAP member states. This meeting agreed that the biggest challenge for the Pacific Islands with respect to energy affordability is the lack of quality data. The meeting participants requested that the secretariat consider a Pacific-wide subregional pilot project to address this challenge under the UN Development Account Project “Strengthening South-South Cooperation to Increase the Affordability of Sustainable Energy Options in Asia and the Pacific.”
  1. In March 2013, the government of the Kingdom of Tonga convened the Pacific Leaders Energy Summit at Nuku’alofa. One of the outcomes of the Summit was the acknowledgement by Leaders that the greatest obstacle to energy reformation in the Pacific, is the lack of project information and sharing of good practices as well as learning from not-so-good practices. The Leaders therefore identified the priority need for a Pacific Data Repository whereby all projects, from all Pacific Island States dating back to when records were commenced, supplemented by all the projects provided by our Developments Partners could be shared with all Pacific Islands, including current and up to date, energy data.
  1. The Leaders recognized that any National Energy Plan requires quality data. To that end, and to avoid duplication and wasted resources, Leaders supported the call for a region-wide sharing of data about all energy-related projects and outcomes. The Leaders therefore agreed to set up national energy data repositories and further agreed to support the setting up of a transnational data repository on energy which would also include provision of Development Partner supported projects.
  1. In May 2013, the first Asian and Pacific Energy Forum was held in Vladivostok, Russian Federation. This meeting adopted a Ministerial Declaration and Plan of Action on Regional Cooperation for Enhanced Energy Security and the Sustainable Use of Energy in Asia and the Pacific. The Plan of Action identified key actions for the Pacific Islands, one of which is the establishment of a framework for acquiring energy data and information, such as national energy plans, road maps, key baseline data, statistics and project documents, at the Pacific subregional and national levels in order to bridge the knowledge gap and apply lessons learned with a view to improving coordination and implementation among all partners and better measuring achievement through appropriate monitoring and evaluation.
  1. In September 2013, the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders met at Majuro, Marshall Islands and the Leaders supported the initiative championed by Tonga to establish a Pacific Regional Data Repository for Sustainable Energy for All (PRDR for SE4All).
  1. At the 65th UN General Assembly held at New York, USA in September, the Pacific Islands Leaders signed a landmark Declaration on Establishing the PRDR for SE4ALL, which was handed to the UN Secretary-General (Attached as Annex 1).
  1. In December 2013, an expert meeting was organized in Suva, Fiji, at the ESCAP Pacific Office, back-to-back with the 4th Pacific Energy Advisory Group Meeting held by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). The group of experts discussed key principles and how to mitigate risks, including the focus on primary data sent directly by data sources (to the extent possible and following consultations with each participating government).

The Sustainable Energy for All initiative

  1. The Sustainable Energy for All initiative is a multi-stakeholder partnership between governments, the private sector, and civil society. Launched by the UN Secretary-General in 2011, the UN General Assembly has unanimously agreed to declare 2014 – 2024 as the Decade of Sustainable Energy for All. The SE4ALL initiative has three interlinked objectives to be achieved by 2030:
  • Ensure universal access to modern energy services.
  • Double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.
  • Double the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

These three broad objectives encompass all of the energy sector objectives and aspirations of the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and all of the PICs look at this global initiative as an opportunity for addressing its challenges in sustainable energy and sustainable development.

The PRDR and the Sustainable Energy for All initiative

  1. The establishment of the PRDR will support the PICs’ capacity to enhance energy security and the engagement in the SE4ALL initiative in terms of significantly improving the quality and timeliness of primary data – a foundation for sound, evidence-based policies and programmes. It will also help in cutting down project development time and costs, avoiding the repetition of past mistakes while efficiently replicating best practices.
  1. The existence of the PRDR will significantly enhance the accountability of PICs to its citizens and development partners alike. Furthermore, it will enhance the monitoring and evaluation of the Pacific Islands performance under the SE4ALL initiative.

Local Commitments to the PRDR

  1. While the Leaders have made their commitments to the PRDR, it is very important that this commitment if filtered down to the Cabinet and subsequently to the line ministries and local authorities.
  1. The success of the PRDR is very much dependent upon the sharing of data from primary sources such as the power utilities, the oil companies, Customs, Pricing Authorities, consumer groups, businesses and the various arms of government. To support the process of establishing a working modality for sourcing the primary data in the PRDR, the nomination of a national focal point would be useful.

Recommendations

Cabinet is respectfully requested to consider the following recommendations:

i).That the Ministry of xxxx be the lead agency for coordination yyy‘s (name of country) participation in establishing a successful PRDR for SE4ALL;

ii).That the xxxx (CEO, Secretary, etc) be the National Focal Point for the PRDR for SEALL initiative.

iii).That the lead agency and focal point in (i) & (ii) above immediately convene a national consultative meeting, no later than end of January 2014, with all relevant national agencies and development partners to seek their assistance and buy-in to the PRDR for SEALL initiative and to address issues regarding the reluctance to share data and information.

iv).That the outcome of the consultative meeting in (iii) above be reported back to Cabinet for further direction.

v).Note that efforts to establish the PRDR for SE4ALL will be part of the Pacific regional launch of the Decade of SE4ALL at a regional meeting of energy ministers in April 2014.

vi).Acknowledge ESCAP’s and Tonga’s leadership in the PRDR for SE4ALL initiative.

Respectfully

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