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Current
Activities |
PREAMBLE The
continuing large-scale burning of fossil fuels is pushing the earth’s climate
system into a situation where there is a risk of serious and irreversible
damage to its fragile ecology. Concentrations of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere today are 33% higher than their pre-industrial levels with
unprecedented annual rates of increase. A singularly ferocious hurricane
season, record snowfall in New England, the worst-ever wildfires in Alaska,
arctic glaciers at their lowest ebb in millennia, catastrophic drought in
Brazil, devastating floods in India and China are portents of global
warming's destructive potential. Climate
change poses a serious challenge to social and economic development.
Developing countries of the Asia-Pacific region are particularly vulnerable
because their economies are generally more dependent on climate-sensitive
natural resources, and because they are less able to cope with the impacts of
climate change. A basic understanding of the impacts of climate change on the
environment and the distribution of these impacts on various sectors of
development in individual countries of the region is critical for the
environmentally sustainable and socially equitable development of
fast-growing economies in the Asia-Pacific region. Today, the
developing countries of the Asia-Pacific region are facing a number of
challenges in their quest to move forward along the path of sustainable
development. Development activities have implications for climate change and
for the vulnerability of societies to its impacts. For example, deforestation
and changes in land use can influence regional temperature and rainfall
patterns. Development can be made climate-friendly in terms of reducing
greenhouse gas emissions which cause climate change. Likewise, development
activities can be made more resilient to the impacts of climate change.
Climate affects the productivity of critical resources, such as crops and
livestock, forests, fisheries and water resources and causes disruptions in
society's ability to harness resources; its impact on heat-related mortality
and spread of vector-borne diseases such as malaria has direct implications
for the achievement of several of the Millennium Development Goals. Long-term
climatic trends and climate change are already having a discernible impact on
development. A clear example is the close link between rising temperatures in
the Himalayas and the glacier retreat leading to increased risk of
potentially catastrophic glacial lake outburst flooding. The effects of
climate change may be especially critical to the achievement of development
objectives related to the most vulnerable groups and communities. It has
become more evident that climate change will not merely express itself
through slow shifts in average conditions over a long period; it is extreme
weather events like droughts, floods and heat waves, often resulting in
disasters that we must prepare for. A diverse range of development
activities, from design of hydropower facilities to rural development and
settlement policies, will need to adapt to such impacts. We must adapt to
what cannot be avoided, but also act to reduce the magnitude of the climate
change to restrict it within safe limits. What is
most distressing is that, despite the energy sector’s contribution to climate
change problem, there are still 1.6 billion people who do not have access to
electricity, and 2.4 billion people who rely on traditional biomass for
cooking. Energy is a pre-requisite for economic development. The challenge is
to facilitate a fundamental shift towards sustainable energy systems and to
foster rapid growth in renewable energy and energy efficiency, and to
minimize greenhouse gas emissions. Urgent results can be achieved through
existing technologies such as greater energy efficiency (insulation, hybrid
cars and so on) and proven renewable technology such as biomass ethanol, and
solar and wind power backed up with new and emerging technology, including
appropriate carbon removal and sequestration. The corporate sector also needs
to become more engaged in R & D - it can play a crucial role in
simultaneously introducing new technologies to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and developing dispersed forms of renewable energy - thus building
a low-carbon economy (in so doing, we will also reduce local air pollution
problems, increase employment, and avoid excessive reliance on foreign
sources of fossil fuels), while at the same time adapt to the changes we have
not been able to prevent. Climate change adaptation and mitigation must be
brought into the mainstream of economic policies and development projects.
Specific information is required on the significance of climate change for
development activities along with operational guidance on how best to adapt
to its impacts, within the context of other pressing social priorities. Coping with
the climate change issue is multi-faceted, fundamental to our civilization,
and likely to be an ongoing challenge for this and future generations. It is
a question of foresight, because it involves seeing into the future to see
what is required of us today. It is a matter of risk management, because we
cannot predict the future, but merely look at the possibilities, attach
tentative probabilities conditional on human behaviour, and use that to
decide policy today. Perhaps more bottom-up consideration of the impacts of
climate change and greater engagement of the private sector and local
communities in mainstreaming efforts is needed in Asia-Pacific region. Being
cognizant of the pressing need for a multi-disciplinary effort, CESDAC has
been set up to enhance our understanding of the complex inter-relationship
between climate, energy and development to develop appropriate intervention
strategies. |
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