..Press Release................................ UNESCAP News Services

Date 25 April 2006
Note to Editor No: N/19/2006

Launch of the State of the Environment in Asia and the Pacific 2005 Report
Friday, 28 April, UNCC Bangkok

GREENER, MORE ECO-EFFICIENT ECONOMIC GROWTH PATTERNS URGENTLY NEEDED

Bangkok (United Nations Information Services) – The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) will launch a new report urging immediate action to “green” the Asia-Pacific’s economic growth patterns as the current rate of regional growth is unsustainable.

The State of the Environment in Asia and the Pacific 2005 report -- the latest in a series of environmental reports published every five years since 1985 -- report takes a new look at the implications of the rapid economic growth of the Asia-Pacific region.

The report asserts that Asia-Pacific economies must continue to grow to reduce poverty but rapid economic growth is exerting increasing pressure upon the limited environmental carrying capacity of the region. While UNESCAP member countries have managed to make progress in improving pollution control, these actions alone are not enough. Long-term environmental sustainability requires new approaches that go beyond pollution control, it says.

The International Launch of the State of the Environment in Asia and the Pacific 2005 report will take place at the UNESCAP regional headquarters in Bangkok, on Friday, 28th of April 2006.

Following a presentation of key findings, representatives from the business sector will discuss the potential for green growth through initiatives such as the development of eco-cities, low-emission vehicles and the conversion of waste to energy. The keynote address will be given by Dr. A.H. Zakri - Co-Chair of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Board and Director of the United Nations University, Institute of Advanced Studies. Other speakers include Ms. Erna Witoelar - UN Ambassador for MDGs for Asia and the Pacific and former Minister of Settlements and Regional Infrastructure, as well as representatives from DaimlerChrysler, Thailand, ARUP (developer of eco-cities in China) and Rolls Royce Power Ventures.

UNESCAP’s “green growth” approach aims to shift economic growth patterns away from the conventional “grow first, clean up later” approach, towards more ecologically efficient production and consumption. Synergies between environmental protection and economic growth objectives can be developed – environmental protection must be viewed as an opportunity, not a burden and cost. Adoption of greener growth patterns is more relevant in the context of fast-growing Asia-Pacific economies than anywhere else in the world, and will determine the global environmental outlook.
Some key findings include:

* Fast-growing developing countries are shouldering an increasingly greater share of regional and global environmental burdens. Rapid growth is taking place in a region having lower natural resources endowments per capita than other regions.

* Evolving urban lifestyles increasingly reflect globalizing consumption pattern characterized by energy and resource-intensive and high waste-producing consumption patterns.

* The inefficient use, and rising demand for energy, raw materials and water is incurring rising economic, social and environmental costs, as energy and raw material costs increase, conflict over energy extraction and distribution and environmental degradation related to extraction and processing increases. The rising costs of energy mean that action to mitigate climate change is becoming synonymous with action to improve energy security and is increasingly compatible with economic objectives.

* High consumption levels are not always synonymous with high levels of socio-economic development, both within the region, and in other parts of the world.

* Assessment of progress on the Millennium Development Goal 7 - ensuring environmental sustainability shows that no country has achieved significant progress towards this goal. Natural capital in all forms, continues to decline region-wide.

* Water extraction rates are unsustainably high in many countries. Poor water quality makes meeting water needs even more challenging. At the same time, some of the countries with the least available water have the poorest water quality, and have adopted industrial development patterns in which they much more water to produce one dollar of GDP than water-rich countries. Climate change increases the threat to the sustainability of the water supply.

The report explores the concepts of eco-efficiency and green growth and reviews the prospects for sustainable development in each of UNESCAP’s subregions.

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