International technology transfer is crucial to help reduce
carbon emissions in developing countries which themselves are
increasingly vulnerable to global climate change. If swift actions
are not taken to help the poor to adapt to the adverse impact of
climate change, human development progress made in developing
countries could stall and even reverse by mid-century, according to
the 2007/2008 Human Development Report, released today in
Beijing.
The 2007/2008 Human
Development Report?is?released?in Beijing on
November 28, 2007.
"Climate change is now a common concern for all humanity as a
whole to be dealt with through concerted global action. Developing
countries such as China, which are rapidly growing in emissions,
should play a lead role to find common solutions and take a
critical position in the effort to save our planet," said Khalid
Malik, United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident
Representative in China.
Entitled Fighting climate change: Human solidarity in a
divided world, the report argues that although China is to
become the world's largest source of CO2 emissions over the next
decade, a person in the US still emits on average five times more
carbon than a person in China.
The report argues that compared to developed countries, which
take up 13 percent of world's population and produce over half of
CO2 emissions, China has a small per capita carbon footprint by
international standards. By 2015, per capita emissions from China
are projected at 5.2 tonnes, which is about one-fourth of the 19.3
tonnes in US and a third of the average in developed countries.
"If every person in the developing world had the same carbon
footprint as the average person in Canada or the US, we would need
nine planets to absorb all of the pollution. We however have only
one planet," said Malik.
Sharing responsibilities: turning the tide on climate
change
The report argues that the world's richest countries have a
historic responsibility to take the lead in balancing the carbon
budget by cutting emissions by at least 80 percent by 2050;
meanwhile, these countries should also adopt a new mechanism to
transfer clean energy technology to developing countries. Supported
by such measures, developing countries such as China should also
play their part by introducing new clean energy technology to
improve energy efficiency and use of renewable energy.
The report stresses that international technology transfer
cooperation and capacity building are crucial to help developing
countries reduce emissions. This can align with existing energy
plans in China that focus on introducing expanded programs for
renewable energy and accelerated introduction of clean coal
technologies.
The report says that under China's 11th Five-year Plan, the
Chinese government has set a wide range of goals to change the
current emission situation, for example, establishing clean coal
technology initiatives to enhance energy efficiency and set the
scene for an early transition to carbon capture and storage;
retiring inefficient power plants and industrial enterprises; as
well as promoting renewable energy. Under a 2005 renewable energy
law, by 2020, China will be producing 17 percent of primary energy
from renewable sources – more than twice the level today.
'Tomorrow is today': Investing more in
adaptation
The report warns that rapid economic growth has gone hand in
hand with a steep decline in poverty, yet China is highly
vulnerable to climate change. If not acting quickly, the climate
change affected areas in China could experience a reversal in human
development by mid-century.
"The poor, who have the lightest carbon footprint and bear no
responsibility for the ecological debt we are running up, are the
most vulnerable and will be affected the most by global warming,"
said Malik.
Khalid Malik, United
Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in
China
By 2020, average temperatures in China are projected to be
between 1.1 and 2 degrees Centigrade above 1961-1990 level, says
the report. If current emissions patterns continue, two-thirds of
China's glaciers, including Tianshan, are likely to disappear by
2060 and the remaining ones will be gone by the end of the century.
In South and East Asia, changes in rainfall, temperatures and the
availability of water would cause great losses in productivity for
food staples, thereby thwarting efforts to cut rural poverty. As a
result, half of China's 128 million rural poor and 40 percent of
the country's agricultural land area which accounts for one-third
of GDP may be affected, according to the report.
"Failure to act on climate change will have grave consequence
for human development in poor areas in the world, and it will
undermine efforts to tackle poverty," Malik added.
Moreover, extreme weather events have become more common during
the past few years, such as droughts in north-eastern China,
flooding in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and
coastal flooding in major urban centers such as Shanghai.
Approximately 3 million people were displaced during the 2007
monsoon period in East Asia, with large tracts of the region
registering the heaviest rainfall since records began.
The world's major challenge, mentioned in the report, is to
change the emissions trajectory in our global economy without
compromising human development. The report stresses that in climate
change adaptation, as in other areas, prevention is better than
cure. Every US$1 invested in pre-disaster risk management in
developing countries can prevent losses of US$7. National research
confirms this broad cost-benefit story. In China, the US$3 billion
spent on flood defenses in the four decades up to 2000 is estimated
to have averted losses of US$12 billion.
UN Response – forging an inclusive
partnership
The Chinese government published its first-ever National Climate Change Program in June 2007
outlining the key directions China will take to achieve its own
national targets on climate change mitigation and adaptation, and
to align with global processes. UNDP and the United Nations family
in China are working with key government agencies like National
Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to implement China's new
strategy and to integrate key findings from the report on links
between climate change and human development.
Specifically, the United Nations in China will soon launch a new
UN-China Climate Change Partnership Framework (CCPF) with NDRC, the
Ministry of Commerce, and various ministries to support design of
new technology transfer and green investment mechanisms, design of
innovative post-Kyoto strategies, local piloting of new
technologies for clean coal, increased efforts to achieve
efficiency and renewable energy targets, and mainstreaming climate
change adaptation in future development and investment
programs.
The program will bring together a team of nine UN agencies, a
landmark inter-agency initiative to bring the full force of the UN
to bear on China's mitigation and adaptation challenges. Under the
framework, UNDP will use its convening power to set up, together
with NDRC, a climate change information center which will serve as
an innovation hub to engage international best practices and
facilitate knowledge sharing globally including south-south
cooperation.
See also:
Human Development Report 2007/2008
UNDP and Climate Change
Climate change threatens unprecedented human
development reversals
OECD countries falling short of their commitments
to fight climate change
Rich nations should help Asia to go green
(China.org.cn November 28, 2007)
