ESCAP Green Growth
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ESCAP Green Growth is a path of improving economic growth that uses natural resources in a sustainable manner. The concept of ESCAP Green Growth was proposed by the Asia and the Pacific region at the Fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development (MCED) held in Korea in 2005. In the meeting, they issued the ministerial declaration on environment and development; this declaration set green growth as an opportunity to achieve sustainable development, which means developing the economy without destroying the environment, making “green” the engine of economic growth, and allowing ecology to become sustainable. This concept was agreed upon by 52 countries and other organizations from the Asia and the Pacific area. The secretariat's analysis work, policy spark-plug, and capacity-building activities pay attention to developing economic growth and promoting the sustainable development of the social environment.
Background of ESCAP Green Growth
Resource
The Asia-Pacific region has the highest population density; thus, in order to improve economic growth, the Asia-Pacific region suffers from heavy costs, and it has negative effects on people’s health and living. To be specific, a great number of resources are consumed by individuals, such as water, energy, and material resources. Firstly, for water, because of natural hazards, the water supply is unstable; what’s more, the Asian and Pacific region is a major grain production base, which needs a large water supply. On the other hand, economic growth needs a number of factories to produce, which will cause wastewater pollution; therefore, this can lead to water shortages. Secondly, for energy, energy is an important factor to improve economic growth; energy plays a necessary role in people’s lives, including traffic, services, and living conditions. Total primary energy supply (TPES) in this region has increased a lot, which is double the global rate; there was an increase by 102 per cent from 1990 to 2014. As the economy develops, energy consumption is faster than energy renewal.
Environment condition
Environmental conditions have become extremely serious in the Asia and Pacific region. Compared to other regions in the world, more than half of the world's population lives in the Asia and Pacific region, which means that in order to allow living quality to improve, improving the economy has become an urgent task for leaders from different countries in the Asia and Pacific region. Some economic policies, in order to improve the economies of some sectors, ignore the cost to the environment. For example, there are seven countries in Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with more than 50% of their land covered by forest; however, due to some companies causing forest degradation, especially in Southeast Asia, compared with the world, this region has one of the highest deforestation rates, causing 1.2 per cent of the forest to disappear every year. [1]. The environmental condition is unoptimistic; green growth is necessary to improve the economy and reduce environmental damage.
Pollution
Pollution is one of the most important aspects that should be considered by governments from ESCAP. Pollution is caused by human activities, such as bad personal habits, manufacturing, and some industries.
Water pollution
Water pollution and air pollution are extremely serious in the Asia and Pacific region. Water pollution primarily involves oceans, rivers, and groundwater. China has a massive population, which occupies about one-fifth of the world's population. However, only over six per cent of the global freshwater resource can be used; what’s more, the quality of China’s water is polluted. More than 70 per cent of China’s water in shallow and deep groundwater has been polluted a lot; what’s more serious is that 60 per cent of Chinese people mainly depend on those water resources as drinking water. [2] Though China contributes to about half of Asia’s manufacturing output, which negative impact cannot be ignored, it can cause a mass of air and water pollution. In China, the most polluting industries are the food, pulp and paper, textile, and chemical manufacturing industries.
Air pollution
Air pollution is one of the most important factors that causes climate change. In recent decades, the economy in the Asia and Pacific region has increased a lot. However, while individuals feel pride about this result, air pollution has reached a serious condition. Air pollution is mainly caused by many factors, such as an economic boom, motorized vehicle growth, increases in population and manufacturing output, and many natural disasters. From the world statistics of the twenty cities with the worst air pollution, sixteen cities are located in China. [3] For example, as the economy increases, more individuals have the ability to buy motorized vehicles; the air pollution in cities will increase; about 70 per cent of city pollution comes from emissions of motorized vehicles. What’s more, though many factories contribute to economic growth, they mainly depend on outdated and inefficient technologies; therefore, this will cause air pollution.
Impacts of ESCAP Green Growth
Renewable energy
ESCAP green growth plays an important role in sustainable development; therefore, many countries use Green Growth as the target to solve difficulties, such as air pollution and limited resources. In the past, the way to improve the economy was extremely terrible; there was damage to the environment to improve it. Gradually, people realized that the cost to the environment could not be undertaken; if people do not pay attention to protecting the environment, it will not only block economic growth but also damage individuals’ health. Therefore, changing the direction of economic development is necessary. At the G20 Seoul Summit in 2010, more country leaders realized that Green Growth is an important part of sustainable development, which means that more countries can change their old technologies in many sectors. For example, some countries like China, India, and Australia invest more money to develop renewable energy; the use of some energy sources like fossil fuels and nuclear power will be reduced; more countries will turn to water, wind, and solar.
Improve the service sectors
Changing the way to improve the economy is necessary. Due to some countries focusing more on developing the industrial sector in the past, and the cost of labor in the Asia and Pacific region being extremely low, this region has a great number of factories, which lead to much pollution. However, the service sector, like tourism, satisfies sustainable development—clean, green, ethical, and improves the economy. Tourism has become a key sector in the transformation of green growth; it will change people’s lifestyles to low-carbon, and at the same time, it can help underdeveloped areas escape poverty. [4]. The Asia and Pacific region is very suitable for developing tourism because it has many beautiful views.
Circular economy
A circular economy converts waste into resources and becomes a cyclic process; circular models are useful for reducing emissions from landfills and efficiently managing waste and wastewater. It will create many jobs and reduce the demand for natural resources; therefore, it has a positive effect on innovation. More job supply and reduced resource use also ease the pressure of population ageing. What’s more, a circular economy is beneficial for saving material costs in production. A circular economy will help some major consumer goods sectors save material resources up to 706 billion. [5]
Measure of ESCAP Green Growth
The Low Carbon Green Growth Roadmap for Asia and the Pacific
This roadmap mainly emphasizes the importance of green growth to the Asia and Pacific region and discusses the many opportunities that the Low Carbon Green Growth path can offer. Countries from this region will pursue low-carbon green growth as a target to improve their economies. This Roadmap is divided into three parts: first, showing the challenges and opportunities in this region and the institutional change required to adapt to the Low Carbon Green Growth path; second, providing five tracks as core elements of green growth and discussing how to implement them; third, providing detailed information and analyzing some successful cases.
Environmental tax reform
Environmental tax reform is a positive way to improve the economy and is part of sustainable development, especially collecting tax from companies that cause a lot of pollution. The GDP in East Asia has tripled in the last 20 years; however, most developing countries improve their GDP with an unsustainable growth mode. A great number of fossil fuels were consumed, leading to resource degradation; all of these problems can be solved by environmental tax reform. If environmental taxes are collected, it will have a positive effect on reducing pollution from factories; at the same time, it can also stimulate economic development. Statistics show that if developing countries in the Asia and Pacific region collect a tax on CO2 emissions of $10 per ton, it can reduce CO2 emissions by 8 per cent and increase the economy by up to 2.8 per cent. [6]
The challenge of ESCAP Green Growth
Natural disasters
The Asia and Pacific region suffers from natural disasters more than other areas. For example, some parts of China, Japan, and Southeast Asia are located at the junction of plates, which means that earthquakes are more likely to occur; what’s more, extreme weather like flooding and drought often affects people who live in coastal and inland areas. From 2014 to 2017, the Asia and Pacific area suffered from 55 earthquakes, 217 storms and cyclones, and 236 instances of serious flooding; these natural disasters caused about 33,000 deaths and affected 650 million people’s lives. [7] Natural disasters are a challenge that people have to face; they can destroy homes, crops, and so on, causing great damage to property.
Population
A large population is also a challenge for green growth, as rapid economic and urban growth causes severe pressure on natural resources and the environment. Due to the combination of population increase and migration to urban areas, overcrowding, shortages of water supply, noise, and pollution will occur. [8] These are essential aspects of people’s lives. However, many countries in the Asia and Pacific region do not have the ability to solve these problems right now because they do not have enough resources. A massive population will consume many resources and cause various types of pollution, making limited resources in the Asia and Pacific region even scarcer.
Population ageing
Due to a sharp decline in the birth rate and increase in life expectancy, population ageing has become an extremely common phenomenon in the Asia and Pacific region. It will lead to a lack of productivity and a decrease in the quality of life. It is estimated that about 60 per cent of the elderly population lives in the Asia and Pacific region in 2019; what’s more, it will reach 13 million elderly people in 2030; by then, about 25 per cent of the population in this region will be over 60 years old. [9] Population ageing will cause many issues; for example, healthcare in many countries cannot get enough support. Due to increasing ageing, older people are more susceptible to illness; they do not have enough financial support because they cannot get enough resources and services in society. In addition, labor shortages are also a huge challenge. Population ageing has an increasing trend in the Asia and Pacific region, which means that many jobs will be vacant, limiting economic growth.
Poverty and inequality
Reducing poverty and inequality is a global challenge and an important part of sustainable development. Although the economy in the Asia and Pacific region has increased a lot, millions of people are still living in poverty; poverty and inequality still exist. In the past twenty years, the rich have become richer, and the poor have become poorer. Inequality has become a very common phenomenon in this region, especially in opportunities; in this region, nearly 400 million people live in extremely poor conditions and cannot afford healthcare, and nearly 18 million people lack education. [10] Poverty means they can only obtain few educational opportunities, which means they do not have awareness of environmental protection. This will present a challenge for Green Growth.
External link
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- ↑ "New Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement Lacks Protections for One-Sixth of World's Forests | World Resources Institute". www.wri.org. 2017-05-02. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
- ↑ "Tackling Industrial Water Pollution" (PDF).
- ↑ Lower, Brian H.; Shaul, Travis R.; Clark, Brian H. Lower and Edited by Kylienne A.; Shaul, Travis R.; Clark, Edited by Kylienne A. (2015), "4.2 Causes and Consequences of Air Pollution in Beijing, China", Environmental ScienceBites, The Ohio State University, retrieved 2019-05-29CS1 maint: Extra text: authors list (link)
- ↑ "Signing into eresources, The University of Sydney Library". login.ezproxy1.library.usyd.edu.au. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
- ↑ "Circular Economy – Making Sustainability Part of the Solution in Asia-Pacific | United Nations ESCAP". www.unescap.org. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
- ↑ "Signing into eresources, The University of Sydney Library". login.ezproxy1.library.usyd.edu.au. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
- ↑ "Why Asia-Pacific is especially prone to natural disasters". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ↑ Khan, A. (September 1994). "Interrelationships between demographic factors, development and the environment in the ESCAP region". Asia-Pacific Population Journal. 9 (3): 37–54. ISSN 0259-238X. PMID 12319090.
- ↑ "Ageing Societies | United Nations ESCAP". www.unescap.org. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
- ↑ "Poverty and Inequality | United Nations ESCAP". www.unescap.org. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
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