Unabated Climate Change Would Reverse the Development Gains in Asia, Report Suggests

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 the Asian Development Bank (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."

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