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Development in poor nations adds to threat of climate change
Author: Matthew Clarke, Opinion, The Canberra Times
Date: Wed Jul 25th 17:45:24 2007
Thursday, 26 July 2007
CLIMATE change has for too long been viewed as largely an environmental or scientific problem, when it is just as much an issue of development.
While rapid economic development in places like China and India is helping to improve the lives of millions of the world's poor it is also exacerbating the peril facing low-lying Pacific island nations that do not have the resources or skills to meet the threat posed by climate change.
As a result, climate change needs to be at the core of Australia's aid program because the economic development that is helping to drag millions out of poverty paradoxically increases the threat posed by global warming to many of the poorest and most vulnerable in our region.
In the past, developed countries have been responsible for greenhouse gas emissions.
But emerging economies like China and India have become increasingly significant emitters as they undergo energy-intensive growth. Asian economies are expanding at about double the rate of the rest of the world, and are consuming increasingly large amounts of energy to sustain their growth.
It is estimated that by 2010 China's share of world energy demand will have reached 19 per cent, up from 8.5 per cent in 1990. As its economy has grown, so has China's greenhouse gas emissions, to the point where it is second only to the United States in the volume of carbon dioxide it pumps into the atmosphere. India has become the world's fifth-largest emitter emitting more greenhouse gases than Germany, Britain or Canada.
This is not to single out the developing nations of Asia. Across the world, total CO2 emissions from the consumption and flaring of fossil fuels have increased by more than 30 per cent since 1980. However, emissions in Asia and Oceania increased by over 80 per cent during the same period. This has occurred because rapid economic growth in Asia has been accompanied by a sharp increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
The lesson from this isn't that economic development in Asian countries should be slowed to cut emissions. The consequences of such an action for the millions of poor living in the region would be abhorrent.
But there are important steps that could be taken to foster economic development while also ameliorating its effects on climate. Much more could be done to improve energy efficiency in emerging economies. It is estimated that, between now and 2030, greenhouse gas emissions from fuel combustion will grow by 6.4 per cent a year in China, 4.7 per cent in India, and 4 per cent in other developing countries. This compares with an annual growth rate of just 0.9 per cent for OECD countries, such as Australia.
While some of this disparity is due to the expected high levels of growth in developing nations, it is also due to the cheap but inefficient technologies being used to produce energy. Technology transfer from more efficient developed economies to developing Asia is vital to address climate change. If we assist poor countries in Asia to produce energy more cleanly and efficiently, we will enable them to grow their economies at a much reduced expense to the environment.
The Australian Government has the opportunity to support such investment through its aid program. A strong case can be made that technology transfer promotes both the economic development and welfare of recipient countries as well as improving the prospects of those countries most at risk from the effects of climate change, including our neighbours in the Pacific.
Greenhouse gas emissions from Pacific island states are negligible. But Pacific island countries are among the most vulnerable countries in the world to the effects of climate change. These countries have widely dispersed populations living on low-lying areas which are threatened by any increase in sea levels or at risk from extreme weather events, particularly as their governments simply do not have the resources to invest in any infrastructure that might offer protection.
In addition to the direct physical threats posed by global warming, the economic base of these countries is narrow and the majority of those living in the Pacific are reliant on subsistence farming to support themselves, therefore fluctuations in sea levels or weather patterns due to climate change will have a direct impact on their survival.
As a result, it is vital that Australia's aid program tackle climate change as a development issue.
To do this it must adopt a three-pronged approach: we should put in place policies to contain the growth in greenhouse gas emissions in Australia, we need to help developing countries to grow using clean energy technologies, and we must help poor and vulnerable nations in our region to cope with the effects of climate change.
On the first, Australia can take the lead in representing the wider Pacific region to negotiate post-Kyoto protocols that include stringent caps on total greenhouse gas emissions. We can also show leadership by reducing our own emissions.
On the second, our aid program can help developing countries to implement clean energy technologies that reduce emissions while allowing these countries to achieve the economic growth needed to improve living standards and eliminate poverty.
On the third, the aid program can provide practical assistance to Pacific nations to help protect against extreme weather events and rising sea levels.
Ultimately, we may need to help our neighbours to resettle in new countries, including Australia, when the inevitable happens and climate change forces many Islanders to leave their homes.
Successful action on climate change will need a truly whole-of-government approach that includes the Australian aid program. Because climate change is not just about science and the environment it is about people.
Dr Matthew Clarke is a senior lecturer in international and community development at Deakin University.
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