Antara 28 Jun 08;
Bangkok, (ANTARA News) - Asian cities last Thursday agreed to address climate change and to join forces to become climate-friendly beacons within the region.
Mayors and delegates from Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Albay, Phnom Penh, Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Beijing, Delhi and Fukuoka met to discuss boosting city-level planning to tackle the impacts and emissions linked with rising greenhouse gases.
"While we realize that global warming will have costly implications for cities, we also know that many of the sectors that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions are also concentrated in cities. What we do at city level and collectively will contribute to addressing what is a serious problem facing all of us today," said Apirak Kosayodhin, Governor of Bangkok.
Buildings, transport, and industry, all concentrated in urban zones, are among the key sectors that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions have increased by 70 percent between 1970 and 2004, with emissions from the transport sector growing at more than 120 percent, while the buildings sector emissions have grown by 75 percent.
"A large majority of cities today are located on the coast. With sea-level rise, these cities are vulnerable to floods, which will put homes and infrastructure at risk. Frequent weather changes and extreme weather events will also affect agricultural output and lead to food shortages in cities. At city level, we will have to do what we can to adapt to these changes," said Hiroshi Nishimiya, Deputy Regional Director, United Nations Environment Programme, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.
The delegates discussed cooperation to support innovative policies and measures, including promotion of energy efficient and clean technologies in key urban economic sectors.
"There are a number of options that we can consider but we now have to move beyond these measures and ensure adaptation measures are taken into account in existing land use planning, infrastructure design and disaster risk reduction strategies," Governor Apirak added.
The Bangkok Declaration on Climate Change was endorsed during the `ASEAN+6 City Forum on Climate Change`, which was organized by the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA), the United Nations Environment Programme, and other partners.
The Bangkok Assessment Report on Climate Change will be released later this year. A Manual for Development of National and City Assessment Reports on Climate Change, prepared with leading experts from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in the region, is also underway. (*)
