Asia's booming cities must go green or face risk - ADB study
BANGKOK, THAILAND - Asia must act now to pave the way for green,
resource-friendly cities or face a bleak and environmentally degraded
future, said a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report.
"Asia has seen unprecedented urban population growth but this has
been accompanied by immense stress on the environment," said ADB's Chief
Economist, Changyong Rhee.
"The challenge now is to put in place policies which will reverse
that trend and facilitate the development of green technology and green
urbanisation."
In a special chapter of its flagship annual statistical publication,
Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2012, the ADB examines the
challenges and opportunities associated with the region's breakneck
urban boom. It also details measures needed to turn cities into
environmentally sustainable, inclusive growth centers.
Since the 1980s, Asia has been urbanising at a faster rate than
anywhere else, with the region already home to almost half of all the
world's city dwellers.
In just over a decade, it will have 21 of 37 megacities worldwide,
and over the next 30 years another 1.1 billion people are expected to
join Asia's already swollen urban ranks.
This breakneck expansion has been accompanied by a sharp rise in
pollution, slums, and widening economic and social inequality which are
causing rapid environmental degradation. Particularly disturbing are
urban carbon dioxide emissions, which if left unchecked under a
business-as-usual scenario, could reach 10.2 metric tons per capita by
2050, a level which would have disastrous consequences for Asia and the
rest of the world.
Rising urban populations mean that over 400 million people in Asian
cities may be at risk of coastal flooding and roughly 350 million at
risk of inland flooding by 2025.
Unless managed properly, these trends could lead to widespread
environmental degradation and declining standards of living.
The report notes that there is hope. The growth of cities can have
many advantages, including critical masses of people in relatively small
areas, making it easier and more cost effective to supply essential
services such as piped water and sanitation.
Rising education levels, factories leaving cities, the growth of
middle classes and declining birth rates typically associated with
urbanisation also have a broadly beneficial impact on resource use and
the environment.
Conservation and efficiency improvements will help
Many countries have begun diversifying their energy sources to
include renewables and have been investing in energy-efficient buildings
and sustainable transport systems. Imposing congestion and emission
charges, as in Singapore, and removing inefficient fuel subsidies, as in
Indonesia, can make prices more fully reflect social costs. But the
report says much more is needed, including the development and
mainstreaming of new green technologies.
Early examples are waste-to-energy conversion plants, as in the
Philippines and Thailand, or 'smart' electric grids. For urbanisation to
be not only green but inclusive, policy makers need to promote climate
resilient cities, to prevent disasters such as the 2011 Bangkok floods,
and improve urban slum areas, the report said. |