Rachel Kelly Channel NewsAsia 25 Mar 11;
SINGAPORE : A blanket of darkness is set to hit cities around the world this Saturday as hundreds of millions of people around the world switch off their lights to take part in the "Earth Hour" climate campaign.
The event this year assumes particular significance as it follows the earthquake and tsunami that shook Japan. Experts at the World Bank said the risks of such natural disasters in East Asia are on the rise as individuals and businesses in the region ramp up their energy consumption.
East Asia is home to 59 per cent of the world's natural disasters. Eighty-five percent of all people affected by disasters since 1997 have been from this region.
A recent report released by the World Bank said East Asia's exposure to natural disasters is likely to double by 2050.
While climate change had nothing to do with the Japan earthquake, the risk of other types of natural disasters is nonetheless increasing because of rampant use of fossil fuels.
But keeping energy usage sustainable while maintaining East Asia's high rate of economic expansion is a challenge.
Andrew Steer, special envoy to climate change, The World Bank, said: "The solution is already well underway, so for very simple pollutions like particulates in the air - already we are seeing rapid progress and decline in pollution - for others like sulphur dioxide we are starting to see they are still rising but just starting to peak and coming down.
"Now the question will be for carbon dioxide - it will cost almost one per cent of GDP to deal with the issue. The gains of dealing with the issue over time will be greater than that, so will pay for itself - but again it requires a long term approach.
"So a number of East Asian countries are adopting some pretty imaginative measures - for example, they almost all have measures with regard to renewable energy ... some are starting to work, so the jury is out - we feel there is a sort of inflection point at the moment."
The World Bank said there are no silver bullets and a portfolio of solutions is required.
For example, one set of solutions calls for a four-fold increase in the share of low-carbon technologies in power generation to 50 per cent by 2030 from the current 17 per cent, as well as a greater focus on energy-efficient technologies.
This will, however, require support from the international investment community.
Mr Steer said: "By improving energy efficiency ... by bringing in low cost renewable energy, it turns out that you could peak the total emissions of CO2 from the developing countries of East Asia by 2025 - and half of that could be done by energy efficiency.
"The energy efficiency part would cost US$80 billion a year - that's a lot of money - but it would all pay for itself over time because there are investments that regardless of carbon dioxide, it's still a good idea to do.
"In addition to that, it would cost about $35 billion extra per year on the renewable energy side, but because you have done the energy efficiency side you will have to build a lot less power plants so you will save a lot of that back.
"So if you do the maths, you'll find that you need investment - (about) 80 billion dollars a year extra - but it will all pay for itself in the longer term."
The World Bank estimates that roughly US$25 billion would be required from the international investment community.
- CNA/al
