ASIA’S JOURNEY TO PROSPERITY
     Policy, Market, and Technology over 50 Years
     Chapter 13: Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change
                                            Outline
           Environment and development in Asia: Overview
   01
   02      Asia’s growing environmental pressures
   03     . 
           Climate change
   04      Asian efforts to address environmental pressures and 
           climate change
   05      Engagement in international agreements and roles of 
           development partners
   06      Looking ahead
   07      Questions and further readings
                                                                                                   2
                 1. Environment and development in Asia: Overview
         Asia’s rapid industrialization and 
  01                                         03 Asia’s natural resources are facing additional risks due to climate change. 
         economic transformation have also          Although the region historically was not a major source of greenhouse 
         meant more material and energy             gas emissions on a per capita basis, emissions have been growing much 
         consumption. A larger, more urban 
                                                    more rapidly than the global average in recent decades as Asia’s growth 
         population has exerted escalating          accelerated and energy systems have been fossil fuel dependent and 
         pressure on the environment.               carbon intensive.
  02 The focus of development policies in the region for       04 As the effects of environmental problems and 
        most of the earlier part of the past 50 years has been        climate change amplified, Asian policy makers have 
                                                                      taken steps to respond. Key environmental policies 
        “growth first, cleanup later,” in which environmental         have been adopted across the region, including 
        considerations had low salience and low policy                framework legislation, safeguard policies, and air and 
        priority, leading to the deterioration of forests, soil       water quality standards. Environmental and climate 
        quality, freshwater ecosystems, ocean health, air             change policies have made greater use of market-
        quality, and biodiversity.                                    based instruments. 
         05 Asia also deepened its engagement in international environmental agreements, including submissions 
                of ambitious “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement on climate 
                change. The region is also becoming a leading exporter of green products and services, which help 
                environmental performance globally.                                                                3
            2.  Asia’s growing environment pressures: Forests and land
   • Forests and terrestrial ecosystems (such as wetlands, grasslands, and riverine systems) have 
       faced significant pressure during Asia’s development. 
   ❖ Forest transition theory                                         Natural Forest Cover, Developing Asia, 1990-2015
                                                   a) 140
       posits that in the early                    ion h 120
       stages of economic                          ill 100
       development and high levels                 st (m 80
       of forest cover, deforestation              ore 60
       is most rapid. As economic                  al f 40
       development progresses,                     tur 20
       incentives for deforestation                Na   -
       should fall. Asia has                                  People's Indonesia Rest of          India       The       Rest of    Central     Rest of
       experienced this pattern in                            Republic              Southeast                Pacific   East Asia     Asia      South
       part, but with strong                                  of China                 Asia                                                     Asia
       regional differences.                                                1990       1995      2000       2005       2010       2015
                                                 ha = hectare.
                                                 Note: Refers to natural forest, which is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as composed 
                                                 of indigenous trees and not classified as forest plantation.
                                                 Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2015. Global Forest Resources
                                                 Assessment 2015. http://www.fao.org/forest-resources-assessment/past-assessments/fra-2015/en/.  4