Vision and Proposed Actions on Universal Access to High-Quality Energy in APEC

I. Background

Energy serves as a vital cornerstone of economic and social development. Since its establishment, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) has consistently regarded energy cooperation as a core priority, with various initiatives undertaken to support improved energy access across the region. Since the Energy Working Group (EWG) adopted the Energy Access Paper in 2020, APEC economies have observed notable progress in energy development, including an increase in regional installed power capacity from 4,835 GW to 6,891 GW and a reduction in the population without electricity access from approximately 21.67 million to about 14.12 million¹. This progress has been achieved through balanced use of all available energy sources, in line with each economy’s domestic circumstances and development priorities.

We recognize conventional, and zero and low emission energy sources and technologies provide a foundation for energy access, and strong and sustainable economic growth, and that each economy will choose an energy system mix consistent with its domestic priorities.

Although energy access is often measured on the basis of access to basic energy supply, this metric does not reflect differences in its quality. Today, people across the APEC region increasingly expect the provision of high-quality energy. We recognize that high-quality in this context can include security, reliability, abundance, resilience, universality, sustainability and affordability, with the understanding that each economy may interpret and advance these aspects in accordance with its circumstances and priorities. Amid rising demand from expanding middle-income populations, proliferating digital and electric end-uses, frequent extreme weather events and persistent gaps in universal access and service quality, some APEC economies are progressively transitioning from a focus on “have or have not” in energy access toward a focus on the quality. At the same time, APEC recognizes that universal access has yet to be fully achieved across the region. It reaffirms, accordingly, that the pursuit of high-quality energy should advance in parallel with, rather than in substitution for, completing universal access to energy.

II. Vision

In support of all people across the APEC region for shared prosperity, we are committed to pursuing the development of high-quality energy. Practical regional cooperation should be deepened to enhance high-quality energy to deliver greater benefits to all. This will provide solid support for social and economic growth, contributing to the joint development of a future-oriented Asia-Pacific community.

III. Challenges

To achieve universal access to high-quality energy, APEC economies recognize the need to address multiple challenges, including but not limited to:

1. Last-mile energy delivery gaps. Although energy connectivity has improved markedly in the region, the “last mile” of energy delivery continues to present challenges in geographically remote islands, mountainous areas, and rural regions with underdeveloped infrastructure. These communities remain disconnected from main grids and lack adequate decentralized or off-grid solutions.

2. Supply reliability and infrastructure quality deficits. Aging and constrained grid infrastructure, voltage instability, supply disruptions and the lack of affordable, reliable generating capacity can affect APEC economies. In remote and underserved regions, unreliable supply limits productive economic activity and access to modern energy; in more developed regions, aging assets and capacity bottlenecks increase the risk of service interruptions and constrain the expansion of energy supplies for productive and commercial uses.

3. Energy affordability needs improvement. Grid connection fees and ongoing energy expenses place a heavy burden on low-income households, with the poorest families in some connected villages still unable to access energy due to the high cost. Beyond these recurring costs, the upfront costs to improve the efficiency of appliances and residential energy systems remain prohibitive for many households.

4. Gaps remain in universal energy access. Basic energy demands of underdeveloped regions remain inadequately addressed. Therefore, challenges remain for ensuring balanced access to the benefits of energy development for all. Different individuals have access to energy of varying quality, particularly across public services such as healthcare, education, and transportation. Furthermore, rural and remote communities often face temporal and seasonal energy challenges in their livelihoods.

5. Energy system resilience and emergency response capabilities require further strengthening. There is a need to enhance risk resilience, supply stability, and rapid recovery of energy infrastructure in the region in order to address extreme weather events, and energy market fluctuations. Reliance on centralized supply chains presents risks, including during global market disruptions. This highlights the need to diversify supply chains for all energy resources, broaden access to energy supplies, including enhanced cross-border interconnections, and strengthen adaptive capacity and post-disaster recovery.

6. Inadequacy of infrastructure adaptability. Existing energy supply structures and service models face challenges in adapting to the diversified energy demands arising from digital transformation and emerging industries.

IV. Proposed Actions

It is proposed to uphold principles of international cooperation, and to work together in the following areas to enhance universal access to high-quality energy in the APEC region, on a voluntary, mutually agreed and non-binding basis, consistent with APEC principles and economies’ respective circumstances.

1. Strengthen Regional Cooperation and Capacity Building

1.1. Support international cooperation among APEC economies on energy policy practices and experiences, with sustained attention to and support for high-quality energy development for all.

1.2. Promote the application of a diverse range of innovative technologies and share applicable practices and case studies to better meet energy needs in different contexts consistent with domestic legal framework and security considerations.

1.3. Enhance capacity building in areas such as policy and management, and conduct training and seminars related to system resilience, rural electrification, and policy and regulatory frameworks. Encourage support to APEC economies, including technical assistance for rural and remote electrification and regulatory frameworks, as well as facilitated access to financing instruments and voluntary technology cooperation arrangements on a voluntary and mutually agreed basis.

1.4. Strengthen institutional capacity and governance through, for example, the exchange of best practices on policy formulation and regulatory frameworks, thereby improving energy quality and enabling evidence-based decision-making using indicators such as energy access, energy expansion, energy efficiency improvements and clean cooking access, and note the importance of utilizing the existing EWG framework to track progress toward universal access to reliable, affordable, and high-quality energy across the region.

1.5. Enhance cooperation and explore opportunities to promote market-based frameworks, measures, and instruments, such as energy attribute certification, to strengthen market competitiveness and the transparency of reliable energy sources. Promote efficient energy supply by facilitating investment and access to finance and accelerating energy deployment.

2. Enhance Energy System Reliability and Resilience

2.1. Strengthen the resilience of energy infrastructure, enhancing its capacity to address physical, cyber, and hybrid risks to ensure continuous and stable energy supply.

2.2. Improve power system operational stability and optimize demand-side response that retains optionality for consumers. Promote supply-side coordination tailored to each economy’s circumstances. Enhance system reliability by better developing diversified generation portfolios, encouraging cross-border power trade, enabling and maintaining flexibility through the distribution level and leveraging demand-side resources capable of supporting grid balance.

2.3. Strengthen energy system resilience by encouraging the scaling up of backup generation, and locally tailored emergency energy supplies, reinforcing emergency preparedness and response capacity, and enabling timely post-disaster recovery.

3. Improve Energy Access in Rural and Remote Areas

3.1. Share best practices in the construction and upgrading of energy infrastructure in rural and remote areas to expand the reach and to enhance the stability of energy supplies.

3.2. For areas where grid extension is difficult, promote the deployment resilient and diverse supply chains and encourage locally suited distributed energy supply systems to enhance energy reliability and resilience through appropriate supply methods such as off-grid and mini-grid solutions or other commercial solutions tailored to the geographic context.

3.3. Strengthen reliable and affordable energy access for productive and industrial uses in rural and remote areas, aligning with local needs of agricultural production, agro-processing, and rural non-farm businesses, to support local economic growth.

3.4. Promote access to affordable, reliable, clean and secure energy for residential uses in rural and remote areas, and advance clean cooking by promoting access to affordable, modern, low carbon, reliable and safe clean cooking fuels and technologies, such as liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas (including LNG and CNG), biogas and electric cookstoves.

3.5. Promote portable energy equipment and modular energy supply systems and solutions that meet unique energy demands in production and daily life.

4. Provide High-Quality Energy for All

4.1. Encourage economies to enhance access to and reliability of energy for all people, including for those living in less developed regions and vulnerable situations.

4.2. Strengthen community capacity building and public participation, and promote energy supplies that align with the increasingly diversified needs of households.

4.3. Promote the application of advanced technologies suited to local conditions, and support the development and deployment of accessible and affordable clean cooking technologies, infrastructure and fuels, to reduce household energy burdens and enable reliable and affordable access to clean cooking for all households.

4.4. Address energy access challenges for rural and remote communities and local communities.

5. Promote Abundant Energy for Prosperity

5.1. Develop a diversified energy mix with resilience, affordability and reliability objectives to support universal access to high-quality energy through improvements in energy production, transmission, and consumption.

5.2. Enhance the intelligence, digitalization, and multi-energy sector coupling of urban energy systems. Improve efficiency in the urban energy environment through the deployment of high efficiency technologies, digital energy management systems, and energy efficiency financing. Advance the energy utilization of urban waste.

5.3. Encourage interested economies on a voluntary basis, to facilitate the development of cross-border interconnections, including the transit of overland and submarine power cables and pipelines to enhance energy resilience and access, and support the expansion of high-quality energy supplies across the APEC region.

5.4. Promote affordable, reliable, secure, efficient and stable energy supply for industries and foster the optimized, high-value utilization of energy resources, taking into account the role of affordable and dispatchable energy sources in ensuring industrial competitiveness.

5.5. Promote energy efficiency and resource-conserving energy consumption models that retain optionality for consumers. Support interested economies to advance the adoption of technologies, such as district cooling and heating systems based on electrification, natural gas cogeneration, waste heat recovery, and hybrid energy solutions.

¹ Based on the data from World Bank Group.