The economic growth currently being enjoyed across much of Asia is being put at risk, according to a new report into climate change impacts released today by a coalition of environmental and aid agencies.
The report from the Working Group on Climate Change and Development – entitled Up in Smoke? Asia and the Pacific – argues that decades of social and economic progress across Asia are at risk of being thrown into reverse by the effects of global warming. The report claims that with half the continent's population based near the coast and its agricultural base built around small farms, it is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels as well as the droughts and extreme weather events that are expected to increase in frequency as a result of climate change.
The report provides a stark warning to western multinationals that are currently investing in China and India as one of their primary means of generating future sales growth.
The coalition urges western governments to make a greater commitment to carbon emission reductions, as well as calling for the cessation of deforestation to make way for biofuel plantations and the commissioning of "an urgent assessment of carbon benefits from different fuels as well as assessing their impacts on biodiversity… food security and traditional livelihoods of local populations".
However, besides warning of Asia's potential economic collapse, the report also identifies opportunities for UK and western firms through the technology transfer of low-carbon products.
"Across Asia, the potential for sustainable and renewable energy is vast, and the market, especially in poor communities frequently unable to gain power from large grid systems, is huge," the report claims. "But the temptation to exploit easily available fossil fuels is equally high. Countries like the UK need to set strong domestic examples by championing renewable energy – if countries in Asia are to be convinced not to go down the fossil fuel energy route of 'get rich quick, stay poor long'."
It adds that India could generate 60 per cent of its total electricity supply from renewable sources by 2050, and calls for greater support of technology transfer initiatives, including reforms to restrictive laws governing intellectual property "where appropriate and effective".
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