Asia: Green, growth or maybe both?

Christie Loh, Today Online 26 Jan 08;

BETWEEN immediately providing a better life for the people and tackling environmental issues that could take centuries to unfold, it is obvious which route a country would take. Therefore, no government or person should expect Asia, at a high point in its development, to crimp economic growth by reducing production.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong articulated this approach by Asian nations towards climate change, during a discussion at the World Economic Forum on Friday.

Mr Lee, justifying why Asia needs to pursue growth now, said the region's economic dynamism has contributed to stability and world prosperity. Furthermore, Asia is reluctant to limit energy usage since current greenhouse gas woes arose from past emissions by developed nations, he said.

Still, he sees three ways for Asia to strike a balance between immediate needs and longer-term environmental concerns.

One, countries should start helping themselves regardless of climate agreements — China and India would fare better economically if they removed energy subsidies that lead to waste.

Two, pursue eco-friendly measures that are economically viable.

Lastly, the world should put into practice the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" laid out in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

This, said Mr Lee, means developed nations should take the lead in cutting emissions while helping developing countries, which should make commitments appropriate to their situation. It is also crucial to get major emitters, such as China and India, to sign the Kyoto Protocol. Otherwise, America will not join in.

On the sidelines of the forum, when asked by Reuters if sovereign wealth funds should reveal more of their intentions, Mr Lee said Singapore's were already "quite open". Each year, Temasek Holdings publishes a report on its financial performance.

While the Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) has been "much more circumspect about its disclosure", it will likely "do more", he said.

GIC, however, will not reveal its investments in particular sectors or its financial performance, GIC chairman and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew had said earlier this week. He also said Singapore, Norway and Abu Dhabi had been invited to help the International Monetary Fund draw up disclosure guidelines.

Asia's dilemma: Go green or pursue growth
PM Lee moots ways to help countries balance current growth needs and longer-term concerns about the environment
Warren Fernandez, Straits Times 26 Jan 08;

DAVOS (SWITZERLAND) - ASIAN countries are pressing ahead with the urgent task of growing their economies to raise living standards and reduce poverty and cannot be expected to forgo this to curb global warming, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said.

Instead, practical steps to help them grow in an environmentally friendly way should be pursued, such as pricing energy correctly and pursuing sustainable development, he suggested.

PM Lee was giving an Asian perspective on the challenge of climate change at an informal leaders' meeting on the subject. Others on the panel were United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon and Latin American, African and European leaders.

Climate change and the environment have been major topics at this year's meeting, with several panel discussions on how best to fashion a new agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions after the Kyoto Protocol runs out in 2010, as well as others on water shortages and poverty alleviation.

As the only Asian leader speaking at yesterday's high-level, closed-door discussion, Mr Lee sought to put the region's economic challenges and environmental concerns in proper context.

Economic growth, he said, had helped Asian countries to grow and raise living standards for billions of their people. It had contributed to the stability in the region, as well as prosperity in the global economy.

Should Asian economies falter, there would be political and security implications for the rest of the world, he noted.

'Domestically, the drive among Asian peoples to improve their lives is tremendous,' he said, pointing to the rise in car ownership in China and India as symptoms of the push for a better life. Some 7 million cars are sold in China a year, he noted.

The same applies to South-east Asia, with pressures to exploit fully the region's natural resources, from minerals to timber and forest land.

'It is impossible for anyone or any government to stop this.

'Between providing for the welfare of billions today and addressing a problem that will happen gradually over a century or more, it is obvious which people will choose,' he said.

This push for rapid economic growth would mean more pollution, he said, adding that 'realistically, emissions are bound to increase...this is a human and economic reality'.

PM Lee said Asian countries were reluctant to constrain energy usage when the current greenhouse gas problem was the result of past emissions by the developed countries and, as Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh noted recently, they could not be expected to do more than their richer counterparts to tackle the problem.

'This is the only morally correct position to take,' PM Lee argued.

So how to balance Asia's immediate growth needs and longer- term concerns about the environment?

Mr Lee threw up three suggestions. Firstly, take practical steps which are in countries' own interest. One of these would be to price energy properly. Subsidising energy in China, India and South-east Asia has led to over-consumption and waste, he noted.

'If they phase out these subsidies, their economies will perform much better, and greener,' he said.

Secondly, countries should pursue sustainable development. China, he noted, has set targets to make more efficient use of energy and cut down carbon emissions by 2010, while Asean was also taking steps to make wider use of clean and renewable energy technology, and protect its forests.

Singapore, for its part, was also making sustainable development a national effort, he said. On Thursday, he had announced the setting up of an inter-ministry committee to develop a comprehensive strategy to enable Singapore to continue to grow economically in an environmentally sound way.

Thirdly, add substance to the mantra of 'common but differentiated responsibilities', he said.

This means developed countries should take the lead in cutting emissions, while helping developing ones to do so too through technology transfer or financial incentives.

Noting that the Kyoto Protocol agreement was 'flawed' as it did not include all major emitters, he said it was imperative to get China and India on board. Otherwise, the global warming problem would not be solved, and the US would not join the effort to do so.

Concluding, he said: 'We must each contribute our fair share towards a realistic, workable global solution.'

PM Lee says Asia should sustain growth, address environmental concerns
Channel NewsAsia 25 Jan 08;

DAVOS, Switzerland: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said Asia needs to sustain its growth, but at the same time address environmental concerns, for the long-term.

Mr Lee was speaking at a session on Climate Change during the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Pollution, if left unchecked, is set to worsen with higher growth.

However, Mr Lee noted that Asian countries are reluctant to use less energy as they feel the current greenhouse gas problem is caused by developed countries in the past.

So Mr Lee suggested three ways Asian governments can strike a balance between tackling immediate development needs and protecting the environment.

Firstly, countries should take steps that will benefit them directly, regardless of any climate agreement.

One major initiative is to price energy properly.

Mr Lee noted that many countries like China and India are subsidising energy, and this leads to waste and over-consumption.

Mr Lee said "their economies will perform much better and greener" if they phase out these subsidies.

Secondly, the Prime Minister encouraged Asian nations to pursue sustainable development.

For example, he said that China has set definite targets to reduce major pollutant emissions by 2010.

Mr Lee added that ASEAN too is "working to reduce energy intensity, deploy clean and renewable energy, and protect the region's forests and biodiversity.

Singapore is also making a national effort.

Mr Lee had announced on Thursday that a new inter-ministerial committee will be formed to study sustainable development strategies for the country.

The third strategy is for developed countries to "take the lead in reducing emissions, while helping developing nations to do likewise".

This can be done by offering financial incentives or technology transfer.

On their part, Mr Lee said developing countries should make use of the help and commit to resolve their specific needs.

On the Kyoto Protocol, Mr Lee said it is flawed.

The treaty does not include all major emitters. So Mr Lee said some developed countries want to scrap it and start from scratch.

However, Mr Lee said that won't be done.

Instead of starting from a blank slate, Mr Lee said countries have to start from Kyoto and move forward from there.

Mr Lee noted that it is also "crucial to get China and India on board. Otherwise, the problem will not be resolved."

Mr Lee acknowledged that the US too refused to participate in the Kyoto Protocol.

He said that is something that "has to be discussed and negotiated."

The Kyoto Protocol requires developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions below levels specified for each of them.

These targets must be met within a five-year time frame between 2008 and 2012.

Mr Lee pointed out that effective steps must be taken now to achieve environmental sustainability.

So he called on every nation to do their part in coming up with a realistic and workable global solution.

Mr Lee said that with better knowledge and technology today, countries must revise their strategies to tackle this long-term climate change problem for the sake of the future. - CNA/ms