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A Climate for Change in East Asia and Pacific - Case for Action
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| Climate change threatens all countries. Yet developing countries everywhere—from Asia to Africa to Latin America—will be disproportionately affected by the climate crisis. The World Development Report (WDR) 2010: Development and Climate Change notes that they will bear 75–80 percent of the costs of damage caused by the changing climate. | What we do today shapes the climate of tomorrow and imposes limits on the choices that are available to future generations. |
Economic growth alone will not be fast or equitable enough to counter threats from climate change, particularly if it remains carbon intensive and accelerates global warming. So climate policy cannot be framed as a choice between growth and climate change. Instead, climate-smart policies are those that enhance development, reduce vulnerability, and finance the transition to low-carbon growth paths.This booklet focuses on policy recommendations and steps already being taken in East Asia and the Pacific to reduce the sources of greenhouse gases (mitigation), adapt to changing weather (adaptation), and develop financial and technological partnerships in the face of a pressing global challenge. The WDR 2010 argues that the East Asia and Pacific region and the rest of the world must act now, act together, and act differently, before costs go up and people suffer unnecessarily. Download the pdf version (929kb) | | |
 The world has a brief window of time in which to find the technologies and the funds to combat climate change. What we do today shapes tomorrow’s climate and limits the choices that are available to future generations.
- Staying close to 2°C warming above preindustrial temperature levels—likely to be the best that can be done —requires a global energy revolution with the immediate deployment of energy efficiency and available low-carbon technologies, and massive investments in new technologies. Once greenhouse gases are emitted, they remain in the atmosphere for decades or even centuries, trapping heat and affecting climate patterns for a very long time. Power plants, new urban communities and reservoirs that we build today will last for many decades.
- Climate change will depress agricultural yields in most developing countries. New technologies and climate-resilient crop varieties that are piloted today could determine the future energy and food sources of their growing populations.
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 Rich countries must take the lead by reducing their own carbon footprints at home and by helping developing countries to finance adaptation to climate change as well as mitigate further global warming.
Actions by rich countries to adopt ambitious emission reduction targets could free up some “pollution space” for the unmet energy needs of millions of people in developing countries. According to the WDR, replacing 40 million SUVs with fuel-efficient passenger cars in the United States would nearly offset the emissions from providing electricity to 1.6 billion more people in developing countries who currently lack access.
Strong action by rich countries would stimulate innovation and demand for green technologies that can be rapidly scaled up. This would also help create a sufficiently large and stable carbon market. New technologies would enable developing countries to grow along a lower carbon trajectory while expanding access to energy services.
National and international support is essential to protect the most vulnerable people through social assistance programs, to develop international risk-sharing arrangements, and to promote the exchange of knowledge, technology and information.
 Instead of planning for yesterday’s climate, policy makers must heed a variety of climate futures and promote innovation on many fronts.
In the next few decades, the world’s energy systems must be transformed so that global emissions drop 50–80 percent. Infrastructure must be built to withstand new climate extremes. Agricultural productivity and water management need to improve to feed 3 billion more people without further threatening already stressed ecosystems.
Only long-term, large-scale integrated management and flexible planning can satisfy increased demands on natural resources while conserving biodiversity and maintaining terrestrial carbon stocks.
Adaptation should be based on new information about changing patterns of temperature, precipitation, and species.
Current financing for adaptation and mitigation is less than 5 percent of what may be needed annually by 2030. Mobilizing the shortfalls will require major efforts.
A major challenge is to convince people and institutions to rally behind change and seize the opportunity to achieve climate-smart growth.
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| PLANNING AHEAD | | In Vietnam, adapting to sea level rise, floods and changing irrigation requirements already factors in the cost of building infrastructure such as the sluice gate pictured here. |
The costs of adapting to climate change in developing countries will be in the order of US$75–100 billion a year for the period 2010 to 2050—roughly the same order of magnitude as current overseas development assistance, according to preliminary findings from a global study on the economics of adaptation to climate change. The highest costs will be borne by the East Asia and Pacific region, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa.The Economics of Adaptation to Climate Change is a multi-year, multi country study designed to help decision makers in developing countries better understand and assess the risks posed by climate change, so that they can better cost, prioritize, sequence and integrate adaptation strategies into their development plans and budgets, all while dealing with economic uncertainty, competing needs and limited resources. The study, funded by the governments of the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, places particular emphasis on understanding the vulnerability of the poor. Vietnam and Samoa are among seven countries assessed in depth. For more information, visit: worldbank.org/eacc |
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