Kenji KOBAYASHI President of APERC
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The Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre (APERC) was established in July 1996 in Tokyo following the directive of APEC Economic Leaders in the Osaka Action Agenda. The primary objective of APERC is to conduct researches to foster understanding among APEC members of regional energy outlook, market developments and policy issues.
As APERC's president, I feel that many challenges and opportunities lie ahead. APEC's members, which together account for more than half of the world's total energy consumption, are grappling with how best to reconcile their energy needs with the "3Es" of energy security, economic growth and environmental protection. The complexity of harmonizing these goals poses a major challenge, calling for a collective regional response.
APERC's research projects for the current year and onwards, including work on (1) APEC Energy Demand and Supply Outlook, (2) Understanding Energy in China - Phase II and (3) APEC Peer Review on Energy Efficiency are largely directed at helping APEC members to meet these challenges.
Current high oil prices exemplify the energy challenges faced both today and into the future. Strong energy demand growth in Asia, geopolitical instability in some key energy exporting regions, and constraints on infrastructure to deliver energy sources to the market have resulted in tight oil markets, which inexorably leave oil-importing economies increasingly vulnerable to an oil supply disruption. Although formidable, we believe these challenges could be more competently responded to by credible research.
Finally, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the APEC member economies that have sent us so many fine researchers over the years, as well as to the Japanese government and other economies for their generous sponsorship of APERC's efforts. We will continue to do our utmost to help them face their future challenges.
Kenji KOBAYASHI
President
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