However, Southeast Asian energy ministers and officials from China, Japan and South Korea who joined them later at a meeting in Singapore on Thursday indicated that shifting would not be easy.

In a joint communique issued after their one-day meeting, they said that with robust economic growth, the region's demand for oil "will continue to increase, especially in the transportation sector."

They also "recognised that coal will play an important role in the regional energy supply," in sharp contrast with Greenpeace's position calling for a moratorium on the building of new coal-fired plants.

They acknowledged efforts of some countries to explore the peaceful use of nuclear energy and encouraged dialogues to discuss more viable nuclear technologies.

It's almost like officials in East Asian states aren't acting in the long-term interests of their citizenries. It's almost like they're acting in the short-term interests of politically powerful industries.

Say it ain't so.