Head of IPCC and international experts voice climate concerns

<< Back to press release

To mark the launch of the Up In Smoke - Asia and the Pacific report, the chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and others comment on the threats climate change poses to the region.

 

"It has become clear that Asia would see some major changes as a result of the impacts of climate change, and several of these are becoming evident already. Even more compelling are the projections of future climate change and associated impacts in Asia, which require an integration of adaptation to climate change with development policies. It is hoped that this volume will be read carefully by policy-makers, researchers, industry executives and members of civil society in Asia and elsewhere, to gain insights into the challenge of climate change in this region and the steps required to tackle it."
R K Pachauri, Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Director General, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)

"Asia is at a critical juncture as the home to almost two thirds of humanity. It has made real advances in reducing poverty but lies on the frontline of impacts from climate change.  Now, if it follows a fossil-fuelled Western economic development path, it will set in train an irreversible course of events that will guarantee a great reversal in its own progress. What choice does the global community have? Practical difficulties and a lack of rich country leadership on climate change mean Asia is unlikely to abandon fossil fuels in the near future.
To prevent catastrophic global warming, the only feasible alternative is for wealthy countries to dramatically reduce their 'luxury' greenhouse gas emissions, so that the 'survival' emissions of people in poor countries do not cause disaster. How else will we free-up the environmental space necessary for Asia to develop?"
Andrew Simms, report co-author, and policy director of nef (the new economics foundation)

"The Up In Smoke? reports combine concerns about both the environment and the welfare of people in developing countries. This year's focus on Asia is crucial as the region is home to almost two thirds of the world's people, hundreds of millions of whom face growing risks from rising seas and extreme climatic events such as droughts. The new report highlights the key role Asian nations have to play in global efforts to both mitigate climate change and adapt to its effects."
Dr Saleemul Huq, Head of Climate Change, IIED (the International Institute for Environment and Development

"Recent flooding in south Asia claimed hundreds of lives, while destroying livelihoods and displacing millions of people. The stark reality of climate change is this: if the earth rises by just one degree Celsius, 11 per cent of Bangladesh could be submerged, putting millions of people's lives at risk. Before the Bali meeting, we must make our voices heard and demand international leaders take urgent and ambitious action while placing climate change at the heart of their plans. Without this, Asia's vulnerable will continue to suffer, as will communities worldwide who are contributing least to climate change but continuing to suffer the most."

Nazmul Chowdhury, Practical Action's 'Disappearing Lands' project, Bangladesh

"This impressive report is based on the climate change experiences of hundreds of communities in Asia and the Pacific, and it highlights the urgent need for resources to assist them to adapt, far beyond what is currently allocated."
Bert Maerten, Oxfam East Asia Economic Justice Coordinator, Philippines

"India is facing a major water crisis and its per capita grain production is declining. Countries like India cannot be expected to cover the cost of adapting to climate change out of their own resources. They will need financial and other help from the rich industrial countries. India's challenge is to raise 250 million people out of absolute poverty without putting an impossible strain on natural resources. The country has great potential for renewable energy, and great scope for making its industry and transport more energy-efficient."
Raman Mehta, ActionAid India, lead author of the India chapter.

"Gordon Brown says he’s passionate about lifting people in the world's poorest countries out of poverty. Now this extraordinary new study shows that because of climate change billions of people in Asia and the Pacific are facing a fight to stand still, with prosperity put on hold as conflicts, droughts and extreme weather events become more common. World leaders who have claimed the moral high ground over poverty now need to put up or shut up. Enough heartfelt declarations, we need deep cuts in emissions and they need to start now. Governments meet next month in Bali to agree the next steps after Kyoto. This study should be put under the hotel door of every delegate, because billions of people can't afford another year of delays and dirty deals. They need Bali to be the moment the world turns a corner and finally grasps the nature of the threat we face."
Charlie Kronick, Head of Climate Change Campaign, Greenpeace UK

"Climate change is real. Evidence is appearing in every corner of the globe. We have sounded an urgent warning that climate change is already hitting places like Bangladesh and India hard, and is going to get much worse. World governments are not yet meeting this call with sufficient hard action to cut global emissions and investment to help the poorest nations adapt to climate change."
Andy Atkins, Tearfund’s Advocacy Director

"We need clear commitment and action in order to make the Bali summit a real success for the future of our planet. The world's poorest people and most fragile ecosystems are paying an increasingly high price for the consumption excesses of the world's rich. This report sends a strong signal to the Bali meeting that there is an urgent need for a firm mandate towards a new global agreement to tackle climate change and provision of full and fair funding for adaptation to its ever increasing impacts."
Kit Vaughan, Climate Change Adaptation Advisor, WWF-UK

"Communities in Asia, and Africa, are doing what they can to cope with the worst effects of the climate crisis. But rich countries must now stand up to their responsibility for the stocks of greenhouse gases parked in the atmosphere, and radically reduce emissions. Britain has a golden opportunity, through its Climate Change Bill, to enact urgent, deep and meaningful change and set an example to other countries. Only through urgent action can we ensure a sustainable existence for all of humanity now and in the future."

Operation Noah

"Up In Smoke: Asia and the Pacific highlights the multitude of impacts which climate change will have in Asia - home to 60 per cent of the world’s population. By offering practical suggestions on how to tackle issues such as deforestation, clean energy technology transfer and developing country adaptation it is showing governments a route out of the current climate change crisis."
Ben Hobbs, Senior Policy & Advocacy Officer, Christian Aid

"In many Asian countries climate change stories don'’t make it into the media, so the public are left out of the debate. The challenge for decision-makers and the media is to stimulate interest in their work and translate the complex issues into stories that capture the public's imagination. Climate change above all requires the engagement of everyone in creating the changes required."
Rod Harbinson, Head of Environment, Panos London.