Climate change deal in Paris is crucial for Asia’s ability to thrive

This year is likely the hottest for 4,000 years, scientists tell us. But what’s more important is what this says about the urgent need for a global climate deal in around a month’s time.

Seven out of nine months this year have registered the highest global average temperatures ever recorded, and the first nine months were the hottest since 1880. These alarming figures highlight how important it is that a deal be reached in December, when countries will gather for the United Nations Conference for Climate Change in Paris.

Whatever happens in Paris, Asia’s governments, businesses and local communities need to address climate change if the newly minted Sustainable Development Goals are to be achieved at all, let alone by the 2030 deadline. At stake is the future sustainability of the region’s economies and environment, as well as the health of its citizens.

It has been a relentlessly warm year across the Asia-Pacific. Heatwaves have claimed more than 3,000 lives in India, as well as livestock. This was coupled with a sharp drop in rainfall in areas covered by the southwest monsoon, which was 14 per cent weaker than last year.

Some parts of India received less than half the expected rainfall. In Vietnam, water levels in reservoirs were down by 67 per cent, causing alarm among farmers. Other Southeast Asian countries have suffered similarly.