In the face of climate change, is it time to re-examine the way we do development in Asia?
For years, many developing countries have believed it can be only one or the other – economic growth or reducing carbon emissions.
But a new report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says it’s possible for countries in the Asia-Pacific region to do both.
“High human development usually means high emissions, but there are ways to do things differently,” says Anuradha Rajivan, lead author of the report.
Everyone agrees that Asia-Pacific – which accounts for one-third of the world’s greenhouse gases and is home to two-thirds of the world’s poor – needs more economic growth if it is to lift millions of its people out of poverty.
