OneWorld.net (U.S.)

Average: Select ratingPoorOkayGoodGreatAwesome

Your rating: None

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 20 (OneWorld) - Alarmed by the findings of a new study, Asia policy experts are warning of serious setbacks to economic and social development on the continent that is home to almost two thirds of the world's population if urgent actions are not taken to avert the threat of climate change.

© jasmeetsb (flickr)"Asia has made real advances in reducing poverty but lies on the front-line of impacts from climate change," said Andrew Simms, policy director of the New Economics Foundation (NEF) and co-author of the study, entitled "Up in Smoke: Asia and Pacific."

In releasing the study Monday, Simms and other proponents of global economic prosperity noted with concern the possibility that global warming could "reverse" decades of social and economic progress across Asia, if appropriate measures were not taken now.

"It has become clear that Asia would see some major changes as a result of the impacts of climate change," said R K Pachauri, chair of the UN-led Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in his foreword to the study.

Asia is home to over 60 percent of the world's population, over half of whom live near coasts, which have become increasingly vulnerable to sea-level rise due to global warming. The continent is also home to 87 percent of the world's 400 million small farms, which rely on regular rainfall.

The report comes at a time when preparations for a major world summit on climate change are in full swing. In December, many heads of state and policy makers from across the world will gather in Bali, Indonesia to decide the future of the Kyoto treaty, which expires in 2012.

"Before the Bali meeting, we must make our voices heard, and demand international leaders take urgent and ambitious action," said Nazmul Chowdhury of Practical Action's 'Disappearing Lands' project in Bangladesh, which is part of the 21-member coalition that produced the report.

"We need to start talking about emissions reduction targets that are in line with the science rather than in line with what negotiators think they can get away with." - Andrew Simms, New Economics Foundation

The coalition, which includes many of the world's most prominent environment and development groups, such as ActionAid, Christian Aid, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), NEF, Oxfam, and the World Wildlife Federation, says it wants rich countries to agree on definite and deeper cuts on greenhouse gas emissions because those countries are "disproportionately" responsible for the climate-related changes the world has already begun to experience.

"We need to start talking about emissions reduction targets that are in line with the science rather than in line with what negotiators think they can get away with," said Simms. "Without this, Asia's vulnerable will continue to suffer, as will communities worldwide who are contributing least to climate change."

To prevent catastrophic global warming, according to Simms, the only feasible alternative is for wealthy countries to dramatically reduce their 'luxury' greenhouse gas emissions, so that the 'survival' emissions of people in poor countries do not cause disaster.

"The stark reality of climate change is this: if the [temperature of the] Earth rises by just one degree Celsius, 11 percent of Bangladesh could be submerged, putting millions of people's lives at risk," said Chowdhury, noting that recent flooding in South Asia has already killed hundreds and displaced millions.

The report urges at least 80 percent cuts in global greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050 and calls on richer counties to lead by example and champion the use of renewable energy. It also attempts to convince Asian countries not to go down the fossil fuel energy route of "get rich quick, stay poor long."

If Asia follows a fossil-fueled Western economic development path, it will set in motion an irreversible course of events that will guarantee a great reversal in its own progress, according to the report's authors, who believe the world community is left with very limited choices in the fight against global warming.

"Practical difficulties and a lack of rich country leadership on climate change mean Asia is unlikely to abandon fossil fuels in the near future," said Simms, who, however, hopes that the talks in Bali could help bring about a "paradigm shift in the attitude of developing countries."

Four years ago, the coalition set out to assess the impacts of climate change on efforts toward poverty reduction around the world from the point of view of practical, community-based organizations engaged in designing responses to a changing environment.

The culmination of that four-year effort, the report highlights that:

- In the summer of 2007, British aid agencies had to raise funds from the UK public to go towards assisting up to 28 million people affected by flooding in South Asia. Extreme weather events like this are likely to become more frequent.

- Drought in north China has increased, ruining the livelihoods of the region's farmers. And, around 8 out of 10 glaciers in western China are reportedly in retreat due to climate change.

- The scientific consensus indicates that all of Asia is set to warm during this century, and that this will be accompanied by less predictable and more extreme patterns of rainfall.

- Communities living in small island states, like those throughout the South Pacific, are now at risk.

- The expansion of biofuel crops linked to deforestation could, instead of being a climate friendly alternative to fossil fuels, actually worsen global warming and harm local livelihoods and the environment.

© Food First / Institute for Food and Development PolicyThe report also presents new evidence that the "silver bullet" of biofuels could turn into a rush for "fools' gold" across Asia as huge social and environmental costs outweigh the benefits.

"The economic attraction of biofuels is leading to conflict between crops grown for food and those grown for fuel," according to the report's authors.

"Increasingly, the result is expected to be both greater competition for land and higher food prices."

.................................................................................... Like this article? Then please support our global efforts to bring you the news and views seldom heard in mainstream media. OneWorld.net is non-profit, non-commercial public media. Every little bit helps, so thank you! Click here to help. ....................................................................................

Average: Select ratingPoorOkayGoodGreatAwesome

Your rating: None