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Columbia Energy Exchange

The World Bank in East Asia and the Pacific

November 18, 2019

East Asia and the Pacific is one of the fastest growing regions of the world, a place where the demands for energy are increasing just as rapidly, as are the risks of climate change and other environmental calamities. To one extent or another, nations in that region like China, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines recognize the need to provide energy that’s not only accessible, affordable and reliable but also sustainable. And helping them do that is the World Bank.

In today’s edition of Columbia Energy Exchange, host Bill Loveless is joined by Ranjit Lamech, the regional director of the World Bank’s Infrastructure Department in the East Asia and Pacific region. As such, Ranjit is responsible for overseeing the bank’s loans, grants and other assistance for infrastructure development in the region, including energy development.

Ranjit has spent nearly three decades across the bank’s energy practice, most recently as the manager covering South and Central Europe, Western Balkans and Central Asia. In the 1990s and early 2000s, he led the bank’s energy lending and advisory program in China and Turkey during a transformational period in energy markets.

An Indian citizen, Ranjit began his career with Tata Electric Companies in Bombay.

Bill and Ranjit talked about China and other East Asian and Pacific nations and their challenges and opportunities when it comes to energy and the environment, as well as what the World Bank is doing to help them respond in a sustainable way. They also discussed the roles of governments and state-owned enterprises in adapting to changes in energy supply, what the World Bank looks for in deciding whether to provide assistance, and a recent undertaking in China aimed at helping workers in coal-dependent regions amidst a shift to cleaner forms of energy.

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