Millions of vulnerable people in Asia bearing the brunt of climate crisis, says new report
Global warming is set to reverse decades of
social and economic progress across Asia, home to more than four
billion
people or 60 per cent of the world’s population, according to a new
multi-agency report published today called 'Up in Smoke: Asia and the
Pacific.'
The report--the fourth in a series, compiled by more than 35
development and environmental groups including Oxfam and
Greenpeace--says there isgrowing consensus about the huge challenges
facing Asia. However it notes "reason to hope" that there is now enough
knowledge about the causes of climate change, how the world must tackle
it, and how people in Asia must continue to adapt to it. Immediate
action is vital, it says.
Just
days before the 'Asia-Up in Smoke' report was released, one of the most
vulnerable countries in the region was hit by a severe
cyclone."Bangladesh features prominently in the report as a country
where millions of poor people, etching out a living on farmlands and
coastal areas, are already bearing the brunt of man-made climate
change. While cyclones of this magnitude reveal the extreme
vulnerability of poor communities, the ongoing erratic weather
conditions experienced the world over mean a daily struggle for the
millions of poor people who rely on the land and sea for their
survival. Oxfam wants to see governments taking both mitigation and
adaptation efforts seriously now and in the future," says Oxfam
International's Bert Maerten (1).
'Asia-Up In Smoke' is being
released as the IPCC concluded its Fourth Assessment Synthesis report
in Valencia, Spain. The IPCC highlighted "unequivocal" climate change
already occurring and warned that man-made global warming could lead to
abrupt or irreversible impacts.
"We must not gamble with the
future of the planet. The stakes are too high and leveled particularly
against the interests of the poor and thevulnerable," said Athena
Ballesteros of Greenpeace International. "We know more than enough to
act. Decisions taken in Bali must match thescale of ambition required
by the IPCC’s findings."
important UN talks in Bali next month to determine an international
response to climate change, the 'Asia Up in Smoke' report shows:
- Scientific
consensus that all of Asia will warm during this century with less
predictable rainfall and monsoons--around which farmingsystems are
designed--and more extreme tropical cyclones; - More than half the population of Asia live near the coast and are directly vulnerable to rises in sea-level;
- Asia
is home to 87 percent of the world’s known 400 million small farms
which are all especially vulnerable to climate change because therely
on regular and reliable rainfall; - An increase of just 1°C in
night-time temperatures during the growing season will reduce Asian
rice yields by 10 percent, while wheatproduction could fall by 32
percent by 2050; - The sudden expansion of biofuel crops in Asia
is worsening deforestation and could exacerbate global warming and
threaten local people's livelihoods; - People from small island
states like Vanuatu, Kiribati, and Tuvalu in the Pacific have already
fallen victim to sea-level rises and entirenations are at risk; - In
Bangladesh--where 70 percent of people rely on farming--temperature and
rainfall changes have already affected crop production; - In
India there has been recent floods affecting 28 million people and also
widespread drought in some Indian states. If no action is taken, 30
percent of India's food production could be lost; and - In
northern China massive droughts have resulted in severe agricultural
losses. If no action is taken, by the end of this century China could
suffer 37 percent loss in its staple crops of wheat, rice and corn.
report gives detailed analysis on the implications of climate change in
to poor people living in Bangladesh, central Asia, China,
India,Indonesia, the Philippines, East Timor, the Lower Mekong and
Malaysia, Nepal and Pakistan, and the Pacific Islands. It also shows
that positivemeasures are being taken by local governments and people
to reduce emissions and cope with climate change now.
It looks
at how climate change is affecting people's health, access to energy,
migration and urban poor, women, vulnerable crops, water anddrought,
seas and coasts, disasters, biodiversity, and the environment.
'Up
in Smoke' recommends that the international community commit to
meaningful and mandatory emissions cuts to ensure that global
temperature increases stay below 2°C. It says rich countries must honor
their commitments to renewable energy and that the potential for its
useacross Asia is vast; India alone has the potential to provide 60 per
cent of its electricity with renewable sources by 2050. Rich
countriesmust stop using restrictive intellectual property rules and
allow the transfer of green technologies to developing countries.
The
international community must also urgently assess the full global costs
facing poor countries having to adapt to climate change, and givenew
funds. The report notes that rich country subsidies to their domestic
fossil fuel industry stood at $73 billion per year in the late1990s. It
also says that crisis responses must be better planned, organized, and
funded, and that vulnerable communities must be helped tocope and
prepare for climate-related disasters.
The Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) heads of state, with the participation
of other Asian countries such as China and SouthKorea, will be
convening in Singapore from November 19 to 21. Climate change and
energy security occupy the regional group's agenda. "The verymeeting
that will determine the fate of the planet is taking place in ASEAN's
backyard. If ASEAN intends to be relevant to the region’s needs,it must
support a Bali Mandate for the extension and expansion of the Kyoto
Protocol towards a second commitment period with deeper emissionscuts,"
Ballesteros said. Greenpeace is calling on the ASEAN to establish
clear, binding renewables and energy efficiency targets for Southeast
Asia.
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