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Over the years, Governments of South Asia have faced the challenge of achieving the goal of sustainable development. On the one hand, they must satisfy the ever-growing demand for energy and, on the other hand, the interminable deterioration of the environment is causing great concern among political economists. The widening gap between the demand and supply of energy, over-reliance on the use of fossil fuels, and increasing import bills due to rising global prices are the challenges that South Asia is facing. These can be overcome by using its great potential in renewables. This paper uses SWOT methodology to identify that the poor financial situation of the distribution companies, due to power losses and non-cost-reflective tariffs, and the lack of credit opportunities, due to high interest rates and inaccessibility of loans for the long-term, are the major impediments to the growth of the renewable energy sector of the region. Moreover, there is a conflict of interest between the manufacturers of renewable energy equipment and the developers of renewable energy projects in terms of Government policy concerning the imposition of import duties. India is moving towards protection of the former, while the latter see opportunities in the renewable energy sector of Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural gas is a finite resource that may be estimated directly, through geophysical methodologies, or indirectly, through historical production data. The rapid growth in consumption of this limited natural resource, strictly connected to the oil economy, may lead to its imminent depletion and a related economic crisis. The transition to a new economy, based on renewable and sustainable energy resources, is a crucial challenge for the next decades at world and regional levels, with different dynamics. Therefore, an accurate forecast of the availability of natural gas is important to ensure a sustainable energy policy, providing essential information about the timing of this transition. Postulating a finite life cycle of recoverable resources, in this paper we investigate the natural gas production of four neighboring South Asian states: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, and Pakistan. We use a number of homogeneous diffusion models, with convenient extensions, and check the model validation in terms of prediction capability. The results indicate that India and Myanmar have already extracted more than 50% of their ultimately recoverable natural gas resources (URR), whereas good prospects for natural gas extraction remain in the near future for Bangladesh and Pakistan. The four neighboring Asian states can build a sustainable power reserve system for natural gas to meet their increasing demand within a medium-term horizon. Some further policy implications are also suggested in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lack of access to clean, affordable and adequate energy and large scale use of solid fuels such as firewood and cow dung cake is one of the reasons for a lower quality of life in developing countries. It is observed that majority of households in the world that uses solid fuels are located in south Asian countries. The objective of this paper is to examine the pattern of household energy uses, and identify and analyze the factors influencing household choices of energy, sources of fuelwood collection, and family members involved in fuelwood collection. The paper uses primary data collected from three Asian countries: India, Bangladesh and Nepal. A multivariate model is employed to analyze the data. Age, gender and education levels of a household head influence a household's choice of energy sources. Wealthy households are found to use clean energy sources such as liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and electricity, whereas poorer households tend to use solid fuels such as fuelwood and dung cake. Sources of fuelwood collection are largely influenced by a family's labor supply, education, and household wealth status. Females and children are employed by households for fuelwood collection. Nepal and Bangladesh engage mostly female members for fuelwood collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy consumption is necessary for the delivery of human development by supporting access to basic needs, services and infrastructure. Given prevailing technologies and the high degree of inertia in practical rates of decarbonisation, growth in energy consumption from rising global living standards may drive consequent greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). In this paper the ‘development as usual’ GHG emissions impact of achieving high levels of life expectancy, access to basic needs and continued economic growth are projected to the mid-century using historical elasticities of development and energy consumption in 3 regions – Africa, Centrally Planned Asia, and South Asia. The results suggest that long life expectancy and high levels of access to basic needs are achievable at lower levels of emissions than continued economic growth, but will consume a substantial share of the global budget associated with a 2 °C climate goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An extensive canal irrigation network in South Asia has developed over the past 170 years that consists of thousands of kilometers of constructed channels and distributaries. These canals cut across many energy-poor regions along their paths. In India, this canal network provides a unique opportunity for renewable energy generation that is yet to be realized. Existing technologies for energy generation on canals include small hydropower on canal falls and, recently, canal-top solar panels. In addition, opportunities for hydrokinetic generation in irrigation canals have received limited attention. This paper develops a novel canal-network level framework for energy planning that integrates generation with local energy needs in a canal-corridor. This framework for integrated spatial assessment analyzes the supply of renewable energy generation potential and the demand of unmet energy needs in a canal-corridor, using the Upper Ganga Canal in Uttar Pradesh, India as a case study. We consider the theoretical and technological potential of hydropower and solar power generation and develop three indices to assess the agricultural, domestic, and composite unmet power demand of the canal-corridor. Our results show an overall theoretical potential of 149.1 MW and 13,213 MW for small hydropower and solar power, respectively, which could more than help meet the current 18 hours per day electricity service standard in Uttar Pradesh. The framework uses standardized irrigation and census datasets and therefore is generalizable for canal networks across India and South Asia more broadly. • Irrigation canal energy technologies include small hydro and canal-top solar power. • Novel canal-network level framework for energy planning. • Integration of generation potential with local energy needs in a canal corridor. • Theoretical and technological potential of energy generation on canals. • Three indices for agricultural, domestic, and composite unmet power demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficient use of energy can reduce energy demand, improve energy security and economic competitiveness, and reduce environmental degradation. Using data from the United Nations Statistics Division, the paper analyses the trends in energy efficiency across countries in South Asia (SA) and identifies the determinants of the same. Unlike other studies in the context of SA, this study considers energy consumption of all energy-types taking place in all sectors of the economy. The study applies Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index-I to decompose the change in energy consumption during 1990–2014 into activity, structure, and intensity effects. The results show that the expansion in economic activities mainly drives energy consumption, and the shift toward energy intensive sectors further augments it. However, the decline in energy intensity restrains energy consumption in all the South Asian countries barring Nepal and Bhutan. The Composite Energy Intensity Index and the Fisher Ideal Intensity Index are also estimated to check the robustness of these results. The estimation of a panel regression model identifies endowment of energy resources, production of renewable energy, crude price, population density and GDP per capita as significant factors influencing energy efficiency in SA. These results have significant implications for energy use policy. • Economic activities mainly drive energy consumption across countries in South Asia. • Structure of all South Asian economies has became energy intensive. • Energy intensity has declined in all South Asian countries except Nepal and Bhutan. • Larger availability of energy resources results in energy inefficiency. • High energy prices, population density and per capita income induce energy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effect of remittance income on energy consumption and the economy between 1976 and 2019 in the four highest remittance recipient nations of South Asia. The detailed analysis explores long-run and directional relationships utilizing stationary tests, the panel cointegration test, dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS), fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS), and Granger causality tests using a Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). The study reveals the presence of long-run relationships among remittances, energy consumption, GDP and urbanization. Cointegrating regression identifies that remittance income, economic growth and urbanization individually have a positive and significant effect on energy consumption in the long-run. Results showed that a 1% increase in remittance income results in a 0.045% increase in energy consumption. Among nations analyzed, this effect was found to be strongly dominant in case of Bangladesh and Pakistan. The statistically significant and negative coefficient of the error correction term confirms long-run causality from remittance, GDP, and urbanization toward energy consumption. Variance decomposition analysis demonstrated that energy usage is heavily impacted by remittance inflows among studied variables. Policy implications of this study suggest that higher remittance inflows will increase energy consumption in South Asian countries, engendering positive economic growth and sustainable development. Image 1 • The effects of remittance on energy consumption studied for South Asian countries. • Novel statistical approaches applied to explore the causality and direction between remittance income and energy use. • Remittance income provides a potential stimulus toward national investments and ensures reliable and clean energy sources. • It is evidence that 1% raise in remittance income results in a 0.045% increase in energy consumption in the long run. • Policy makers can formulate strategic plans for migrant workers to ensure affordable clean energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]