The head of the Asian Development Bank has said that Asian governments must invest in renewable energy suppliers and clean energy sources, including wind and solar energy, if they want to maintain their booming economies and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In a speech to a clean energy forum in Manila, Haruhiko Kuroda said that with traditional fossil fuels running low, new sources of energy were desperately needed to sustain growth. "Asia faces a particularly daunting challenge in securing the energy it needs to support growth and poverty reduction in a responsible, sustainable manner," Kuroda said.

"Developing countries should be encouraged to explore possibilities for renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, and biofuels," he said.

Delegates at the conference - co-sponsored by the ADB and the United States Agency for International Development - are expected to discuss how to partner with renewable energy suppliers and promote and roll out clean energy projects in Asia, the bank said.

They will also address how to finance renewable energy projects, including establishing carbon trading schemes which are commonplace in Europe but relatively unknown in Asia.

The problem is renewable energy projects costs up to three times as much as traditional energy sources. The Philippines energy minister, Raphael Lotilla, said financing was the biggest challenge facing many developing countries.

Lotilla said the Philippine government were drafting a bill that would mandate that up to 10 per cent of energy come from renewable sources.

Nonetheless he said the cost factor meant the Philippines was still struggling to boost the amount of energy that comes from renewables.

Among the solutions, Lotilla suggested, would be allowing the Philippines to use payments due on outstanding debt to finance renewable projects.

The three-day meeting in Manila follows calls by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations network of 2,000 scientists, to cut carbon emissions.

The IPCC said countries needed to focus on increasing the energy efficiency of buildings and vehicles, moving from traditional fuels to renewable fuels.

The ADB and other institutional investors including the World Bank have come under fire in recent years from environmental groups for funding conventional energy projects like coal-fired power plants while largely ignoring renewable energy suppliers.

This seems about to change as major investment seems to heading towards renewable energy suppliers bank accounts.

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