World Banks says East Asia could stabilise emissions by 2025
The World Bank said Monday that East Asia could stabilise its
greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 while maintaining economic growth by
investing in energy efficiency and low-carbon technologies.
Achieving the target would require the region's biggest energy
guzzlers to invest an extra 80 billion dollars a year to make power,
industry and transport sectors more efficient and develop renewable
energy, the World Bank said.
Success also depends on the region finding the political will for big
changes as well as transfers of financing and technologies from
developed countries, the Washington-based lender said in a regional
energy report.
"Major investments in energy efficiency and a concerted switch to
renewable sources of power... could simultaneously stabilise greenhouse
gas emissions, increase energy security while improving local
environments," the report said.
But the World Bank warned time was running out and urged policymakers
in energy-hungry China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand
and Vietnam to act quickly.
"While many East Asian countries are taking steps in these
directions, accelerating the speed and scaling up the efforts are needed
to get on to a sustainable energy path," it said.
"The window of opportunity is closing fast, because delaying action
would lock the region into a long-lasting high-carbon infrastructure."
If countries act, regional carbon emissions could stabilise by 2025 and
begin to decline slightly, said the bank, which provides financial and
technical aid to developing nations.
Achieving the target depends largely on China, which accounts for 80
percent of energy consumption and 85 percent of regional carbon
emissions, it said.
The world's third-largest economy will need to reduce its carbon
emissions as a percentage of economic growth by an even greater margin
than currently planned, the bank said.
It called that a "daunting goal," given that China is still a
developing country relying on energy-intensive, heavy-polluting
industries.
It also noted that major policy and institutional reforms as well as
big lifestyle changes would be needed throughout the region to achieve
the goal. Beijing, (AFP)
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