"It comprises papers based on the seminars delivered by speakers at the ISEAS Energy Forum"--Preface.

The energy policy of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) focuses on maximizing energy access, promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy, and promoting improved governance and capacity in the energy sector to strengthen the capacity of developing member countries to meet critical energy needs. This publication seeks to further ADB's efforts to promote knowledge sharing among stakeholders and help identify the policy, regulatory, and legal barriers to energy access; design and implement effective frameworks; and develop strategies to scale up energy access for all. This publication also seeks to serve as a reference for stakeholders and menu of options for further action.

National Energy Plans in the Asia-Pacific Region is a collection of papers presented at Workshop III of the Asia-Pacific Energy Studies Consultative Group, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, at the East-West Center, from 25-28 February 1980. The collection presents a framework for energy policies in the Asia-Pacific Region; energy policies of the United States, oil-exporting countries, industrial oil-importing countries, and countries importing more than and less than 50% of their oil requirements; and the role of international institutions in energy research. International energy policy makers and researchers will find the book invaluable.

Combining theoretical work with careful historical description and analysis of new data sources, History Matters makes a strong case for a more historical approach to economics, both by argument and by example. Seventeen original essays, written by distinguished economists and economic historians, use economic theory and historical cases to explore how and why "history matters." The chapters, which range in subject matter from the economic theory of irreversible investment to the nineteenth-century decline in U.S. rural fertility to the English poor law reform, are unified by three themes. The first explores the significance, causes, and consequences of path dependence in the evolution of technology and institutions. The second relates to the ways in which economic and political behavior are profoundly shaped and constrained by the cultural and political context inherited from history at a particular point in time. The final theme demonstrates the importance of integrating economic theory into historical research in the gathering and interpretation of data.

Under the auspices of the Second Annual Asia–Pacific Dialogue on Clean Energy Governance, Policy, and Regulation, the Energy Efficiency Workshop was held on 20–21 June 2011 at the Asian Development Bank. The workshop—whose proceedings are documented in this publication prepared under the Law and Policy Reform Program of the Office of the General Counsel—focused on addressing the slow uptake of energy efficiency solutions by identifying the political, governance, and financial constraints in implementing energy efficiency solutions, and considering innovative policy, regulatory, and financial remedies for overcoming these constraints.

Under the auspices of the Second Annual Asia–Pacific Dialogue on Clean Energy Governance, Policy, and Regulation, the Special Roundtable to Develop a Regional Plan of Action for Clean Energy Governance, Policy, and Regulation was held on 24 June 2011 at the Asian Development Bank. This publication provides (i) overviews of the key development strategies on clean energy policy and regulatory priorities for Asia and the Pacific discussed during the roundtable, and (ii) discussions and commitments that can guide stakeholders in understanding the region’s capacity building needs; and presents ideas for better clean energy implementation strategies within their own jurisdictions.