In the run-up to next month’s Rio+20 sustainable development conference in Brazil, the UN Asia-Pacific Human Development Report takes a hard look at how an extremely dynamic region can build rural resilience and create cities that can adapt to climate change.
The report argues that in the face of climate change, Asia-Pacific nations “will need to move to greener, more resilient, lower-emission options that not only sustain the environment but also offer opportunities to the poor”.
Asia’s fast-growing cities must lead the climate change battle as 40 per cent of people live there. “Of the world’s top 20 mega-cities (10 million or more people), half are in Asia,” the report said.
“The fastest growing megacity is Dhaka — between 2005 and 2010 its population increased over 16 per cent. But in terms of total population, the largest city by 2020 is likely to be Tokyo (37 million); followed by New Delhi (26 million); then Mumbai (24 million); followed by Shanghai (19 million); with Karachi (17 million) not far behind,” the report said.
Cities are also likely to be worst affected by climate change, as evident in the devastating floods in Mumbai (2005), Jakarata (2007), Brisbane (2010-11) and Bangkok (2011).