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Unabated climate change would bring devastating consequences to countries in Asia - Pacific
Unabated climate change would bring devastating consequences to countries in Asia - Pacific
19/7/17
Unabated climate change would bring devastating consequences to countries
in Asia and the Pacific, which could severely affect their future growth,
reverse current development gains, and degrade quality of life, according to a
report produced by ADB and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
(PIK).
Under a business-as-usual scenario, a 6 degree Celsius temperature
increase is projected over the Asian landmass by the end of the century. Some
countries in the region could experience significantly hotter climates, with
temperature increases in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the northwest
part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) projected to reach 8 degree
Celsius, according to the report, titled “A Region at Risk: The Human Dimensions
of Climate Change in Asia and the Pacific.”
These increases in temperature would lead to drastic changes in the
region’s weather system, agriculture and fisheries sectors, land and marine
biodiversity, domestic and regional security, trade, urban development,
migration, and health. Such a scenario may even pose an existential threat to
some countries in the region and crush any hope of achieving sustainable and
inclusive development.
“The global climate crisis is arguably the biggest challenge human
civilization faces in the 21st century, with the Asia and Pacific region at the
heart of it all,” said Bambang Susantono, ADB Vice-President for Knowledge
Management and Sustainable Development. “Home to two-thirds of the world’s poor
and regarded as one of the most vulnerable region to climate change, countries
in Asia and the Pacific are at the highest risk of plummeting into deeper
poverty — and disaster — if mitigation and adaptation efforts are not quickly
and strongly implemented.”
"The Asian countries hold Earth's future in their hands. If they
choose to protect themselves against dangerous climate change, they will help
to save the entire planet,” said Professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, PIK
Director. “The challenge is twofold. On the one hand, Asian greenhouse-gas
emissions have to be reduced in a way that the global community can limit
planetary warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, as agreed in Paris 2015. Yet
even adapting to 1.5 degrees Celsius temperature rise is a major task. So, on
the other hand, Asian countries have to find strategies for ensuring prosperity
and security under unavoidable climate change within a healthy global development.
But note that leading the clean industrial revolution will provide Asia with
unprecedented economic opportunities. And exploring the best strategies to
absorb the shocks of environmental change will make Asia a crucial actor in
21st-century multilateralism."
More intense typhoons and tropical cyclones are expected to hit Asia and
the Pacific with rising global mean temperatures. Under a business-as-usual
scenario annual precipitation is expected to increase by up to 50% over most
land areas in the region, although countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan may
experience a decline in rainfall by 20-50%.
Coastal and low-lying areas in the region will be at an increased risk of
flooding. Nineteen of the 25 cities most exposed to a one-meter sea-level rise
are located in the region, 7 of which are in the Philippines alone. Indonesia,
however, will be the most affected country in the region by coastal flooding
with approximately 5.9 million people expected to be affected every year until
2100.
Increased vulnerability to flooding and other disasters will
significantly impact the region — and the world — economically. Global flood
losses are expected to increase to USD52 billion per year by 2050 from USD6
billion in 2005. Moreover, 13 of the top 20 cities with the largest growth of
annual flood losses from 2005-2050 are in Asia and the Pacific: Guangzhou,
Shenzhen, Tianjin, Zhanjiang, and Xiamen (PRC); Mumbai, Chennai-Madras, Surat,
and Kolkata (India); Ho Chi Minh City (Viet Nam); Jakarta (Indonesia); Bangkok
(Thailand); and Nagoya (Japan).
Climate change will also make food production in the region more
difficult and production costs higher. In some countries of Southeast Asia,
rice yields could decline by up to 50% by 2100 if no adaptation efforts are
made. Almost all crops in Uzbekistan, meanwhile, are projected to decrease by
20-50% by 2050 even in a 2 degree Celsius temperature increase (Paris Agreement
scenario). Food shortages could increase the number of malnourished children in
South Asia by 7 million, as import costs will likely increase in the subregion
to USD15 billion per year compared to USD2 billion by 2050.
Marine ecosystems, particularly in the Western Pacific, will be in
serious danger by 2100. All coral reef systems in the subregion will collapse
due to mass coral bleaching if global warming increases by 4 degree Celsius
(global business-as-usual scenario). Even with a 1.5 degree Celsius temperature
increase, 89% of coral reefs are expected to suffer from serious bleaching,
severely affecting reef-related fisheries and tourism in Southeast Asia.
Climate change also poses a significant risk to health in Asia and the
Pacific. Already, 3.3 million people die every year due to the harmful effects
of outdoor air pollution, with the PRC, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh being
the top four countries experiencing such deaths. In addition, heat-related
deaths in the region among the elderly are expected to increase by about 52,000
cases by 2050 due to climate change, according to data from the World Health
Organization. Deaths related to vector-borne diseases such as malaria and
dengue may also increase.
A business-as-usual approach to climate change could also disrupt
functioning ecosystem services, prompting mass migration — mostly to urban
areas — that could make cities more crowded and overwhelm available social
services.
Moreover, a warmer climate for the region could endanger energy supply.
Climate change can exacerbate energy insecurity through continued reliance on
unsustainable fossil fuels, reduced capacities of thermal power plants due to a
scarcity of cooling water, and intermittent performance of hydropower plants as
a result of uncertain water discharges, among other factors. Energy insecurity
could lead to conflicts as countries compete for limited energy supply.
To mitigate the impact of climate change, the report highlights the
importance of implementing the commitments laid out in the Paris Agreement.
These include public and private investments focused on the rapid
decarbonization of the Asian economy as well as the implementation of
adaptation measures to protect the region’s most vulnerable populations.
Climate mitigation and adaptation efforts should also be mainstreamed
into macro-level regional development strategies and micro-level project planning
in all sectors, in addition to the ongoing renewable energy and technology
innovation efforts in urban infrastructure and transport. The region has both
the capacity and weight of influence to move towards sustainable development
pathways, curb global emissions, and promote adaptation, the report concludes.
ADB approved a record USD3.7 billion in climate financing in 2016 and has
committed to further scale up its investments to USD6 billion by 2020./.
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All comments [ 10 ]
Vietnam is in the bull's eye when it comes to climate change.
Climate change is one of biggest challenges to the human beings. Climate change can lead to serious impacts on production, life and environment on a global scale.
Higher temperature and sea level rising will cause inundation and water salinity which can bring about negative effects on agriculture and high risks to industry and socio-economic systems in the future.
Climate change have been and will continue leading to comprehensive and deep changes in global development and security, especially energy, water, food, society, job, diplomacy, culture, economy and trade.
Viet Nam is considered as one of the countries most affected by climate change.
Over the past years, due to climate change, the frequency and intensity of natural disasters have increased, causing great human and property losses, damaging socio-economic and cultural infrastructure, and imposing negative impacts on environment.
Changes in rain regime can lead to serious floods in rainy season and droughts in dry season, increasing contradictions in exploiting and using water resource.
If such developing countries like Viet Nam fail in taking proper choices and harmonizing their national policies with international ones, they cannot overcome those barriers because of lacking financial and technological potential needed for producing commodities which can compete on the market of low-carbon goods.
The community’s awareness of climate change is still very limited and one-sided, mainly centering on negative impacts but not on matching life styles, models of production and consumption with orientations of low-carbon and green growth.
These challenges urge Viet Nam to take greater efforts in its policies and measures to improve public awareness and capacity of responding to climate change.
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