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The
Asia-Pacific region is rapidly growing in terms of economy and is steadily
helping millions out of poverty. The availability of basic resources ad
essentials of living are also being taken care of, but the region is compromising
its responsibility towards the environment.

The
United Nations Development Programme, in its new report, has asked the Asia-Pacific to respond to climate change.

The report, titled Asia-Pacific Human Development Report 2012 – One Planet to Share:
Sustaining Human Progress, says that in a world with changing climate, growing
first and cleaning up later is no longer an option.

Aimed at
reinvigorating climate change dialogue by bringing people’s concerns into the
fore in the lead-up to the Rio+20 conference, the
report argues that in the face of climate change, countries in Asia and the
Pacific will need to change the way they manufacture goods, raise crops and
livestock, and generate energy.

This
will mean moving to greener, more resilient, lower-emission options that not
only sustain the environment but also offer opportunities to the poor for
employment and income. 

Observing
that the Asia-Pacific region has some of the world’s fastest-growing cities,
the report said cities in the region are central to the world’s battle against
climate change.

‘Asia
and Pacific are home to some of the world’s largest urban areas. Of the world’s
top 20 mega cities — those with populations with 10 million or more — half
are located in Asia,’ the report said.

‘The
fastest growing of the region’s megacities is Dhaka: between 2005 and 2010 its
population has increased by more than 16 per cent. In terms of total
population, however, the largest city by 2020 is likely to be Tokyo (37
million), followed by New Delhi (26 million) and then Mumbai (24 million), with
Shanghai (19 million) and Karachi (17 million) not far behind,’ the report
said.

Around
40 per cent of Asia-Pacific’s population resides in urban settlements. Asian
cities also tend to be densely populated, with 6,500 people per square
kilometre, compared to 4,500 in Latin America and 4,000 in Europe.

Cities
with higher concentrations of people are likely to be the worst affected by climate
change, as was evident during the devastating flood in Mumbai (2005), Jakarta
(2007), Brisbane (2010-11) and Bangkok (2011). As the UNDP report states grimly,

‘actions in these cities will be make or break for climate change.’