Click cover to read report

Yesterday (27 April 2009) ADB issued their report “The Economics of Climate Change i Southeast Asia: A Regional Review” (download report, 10MB, PDF).

One of the five sectors to help mitigate climate change is as expected the energy sector.

The study observed that climate change is already affecting Southeast Asia, with rising temperature,
decreasing rainfall, rising sea levels, increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events leading to massive flooding, landslides and drought causing extensive damage to property, assets, and human life. Climate change is also exacerbating the problem of water stress, affecting agriculture production, causing forest fires, degrading forests, damaging coastal marine resources, and increasing outbreaks of infectious diseases.

The report urges that Southeast Asian countries should treat adaptation as an extension of sustainable development practices. Its key elements include: adapting agricultural practices to changes in temperature and precipitation; adapting water management to greater risk of floods and droughts; adapting coastal zone management to higher sea levels; safeguarding forest areas from forest fires and degradation; adapting people to threats of vector-borne infectious diseases. Southeast Asia countries need to take timely action to adapt to climate change, build resilience, and minimize the costs caused by the impact driven by GHG emissions that have been locked into the climate system.

The key word is action, we need to help create action today.

Save the date Asia Clean Energy Forum 2009, Manilla, 15-19 June 2009.

The press release from ADB:

Climate and Clean Energy Week

A High-Level Dialogue on Climate Change in Asia

and The 4th Asia Clean Energy Forum 2009 Asian

Development Bank Headquarters, Manila 15-19 June 2009

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is pleased to announce the Climate and Clean
Energy Week to be held to be held on 17-19 June 2009 at the ADB Headquarters in Manila,
Philippines. This week will consist of two events: the High-Level Dialogue on Climate Change in
Asia Pacific, this event will convene climate change policy leaders to discuss the path forward for
the Asia Pacific region; and the 4th Asia Clean Energy Forum 2009, this event will promote best
practices in policy and finance and seek to catalyze actions that respond to the region’s climate
and energy security challenges.

The week will kick off with the High-Level Dialogue: Climate Change in Asia and the Pacific – A Development Challenge (Dialogue), co-hosted by Dr. R. K. Pachauri and PresidentHaruhiko Kuroda. Dr. Pachauri is the Director-General of TERI and Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which received the Nobel peace prize in 2007.

The Dialogue will feature global leaders to share the latest thinking on various aspects of climate change. Other guests who have agreed to participate include UN Secretary General Ban-ki Moon via video, HE Hideki Minamikawa, Director-General, Global Environment, Japan’s, Ministry of the Environment, and Mr. Chad Holiday, Chairman and CEO, DuPont, USA.

As in the previous three years, the Asia Clean Energy Forum (Forum) will serve as a
platform for exchanging experiences and forging new partnerships to advance clean energy
solutions in the region. Leading policymakers and practitioners will highlight proven results and
strategies at the intersection of policy, finance, and implementation.

The Forum has grown significantly, drawing more than 500 participants in 2008 from only about 120 during its inauguration and it will build on this success to attract even wider participation in 2009. ADB is organizing the event with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), cosponsored by the governments of Australia, Japan, Norway, Spain, and Sweden, and event management by Koelnmesse.

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