ADB head calls for renewal of development plans amid climate change

By Alex Villafania INQUIRER.net ASIAN Development Bank president Haruhiko Kuroda is calling for Asian countries to come to terms with the eventually of climate change and to renew strategies for energy efficiency and disaster mitigation. Delivering his speech during the recently held East Asia Summit in Singapore, Kuroda said Asian countries should take climate change as an opportunity to make their own policy changes regarding energy consumption and environmental issues. Kuroda emphasized regional cooperation that will entail incentive mechanisms for countries that implement energy security measures, as well as joint development on energy technologies. If possible, the use of fossil fuels -- which are blamed for the carbon emissions that damage the ozone layer -- should be made more efficient while there should be a search for low-carbon, renewable alternative fuel sources. Renewable energy sources include biomass, wind, geothermal, hydropower and solar power. Kuroda also said that Asian governments should work with the private sector for assistance to finance mitigation and adaptation measures. "Concessional funding must be central, but the public sector alone cannot fill the gap. Carbon pricing and other market mechanisms would induce the private sector to invest in these critical areas," Kuroda said. Meanwhile Kuroda also emphasized the issue of water, which will be affected by climate change. "If greenhouse gas emissions accelerate at their current pace, hundreds of millions of people in Asia and the Pacific will experience fresh water shortages by the middle of this century. Even under the best case scenario, adaptation measures will still cost developing countries around the world 10 billion US dollars annually for infrastructure adjustments alone."