Asian Development Bank warns Asia-Pacific faces trillions in climate costs, millions at risk
The capital city of Delhi enveloped in smog. File pic/PTI
Climate change under a high-end emissions scenario could lead to a 16.9 per cent loss in GDP by 2070 across the Asia and Pacific region, with India projected to suffer a 24.7 per cent GDP loss, according to a new report.
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Rising sea levels and decreasing labour productivity would drive the most significant losses, with lower-income and fragile economies being hit the hardest, it said. The new research, presented in the inaugural issue of ADB’s “Asia-Pacific Climate Report”, details a series of damaging impacts threatening the region.
It says that if the climate crisis continues to accelerate, up to 300 million people in the region could be at risk from coastal inundation, and trillions of dollars’ worth of coastal assets could face annual damage by 2070.
“Climate change has supercharged the devastation from tropical storms, heat waves, and floods in the region, contributing to unprecedented economic challenges and human suffering,” said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa. Urgent, well-coordinated climate action addressing these impacts is necessary before it is too late, he said.
This climate report provides insights into financing urgent adaptation needs and offers promising policy recommendations to governments in our developing member countries on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the lowest cost, he added.
Delhi air ‘very poor’ on Diwali morning
Delhi’s air quality remained “very poor” on Thursday, the morning of Diwali. The Air Quality Index was 330 at 9 am and is expected to deteriorate further towards the evening as festivities take on. Delhiites woke up Thursday to a sky shrouded in a thick layer of smog.
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