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OpinionComment

Asia’s continued growth depends on tackling pollution and using resources wisely

Shamshad Akhtar and Erik Solheim say the Asia-Pacific region is reaching a turning point in which a change in approach is necessary if rapid economic progress is to be maintained

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Planes wait to take off on a polluted day at Beijing airport last Friday. Photo: AFP
Shamshad AkhtarandErik Solheim
Senior government officials from across Asia and the Pacific meet in Bangkok this week for the first-ever Asia-Pacific Ministerial Summit on the Environment. This is a unique opportunity for the region’s environmental leaders to discuss how to work together towards a resource efficient and pollution-free region.
At the core of the meeting is the question: how can we use our resources more efficiently to continue growing our economies in a manner that does not tax our natural environment or generate pollution affecting the health of the public and ecosystem? There is certainly much room for improvement.
Resources such as fossil fuels, biomass, metals and minerals are essential to build economies. However, the region’s resource efficiency has regressed in recent years. Asia is unfortunately the least resource-efficient region in the world. In 2015, we used one-third more materials to produce each unit of GDP than in 1990. Developing countries use five times as many resources per dollar of GDP in comparison to the rest of the world and 10 times more than industrialised countries in the region. This inefficiency of resource use results in waste and pollution, further affecting natural resources and public health, the basic elements for ensuring sustainable economic growth.

As the speed and scale of growth continues to accelerate across the region, pollution has become a critical area for action. While the challenge of pollution is a global one, the effects are overwhelmingly felt in developing countries. About 95 per cent of adults and children affected by pollution-related illnesses live in low- and middle-income countries. Asia and the Pacific produces more chemicals and waste than any other region in the world and accounts for the bulk – 25 out of 30 – of cities with the highest levels of PM 2.5, the tiny atmospheric particulate matter that can cause respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and cancer. More than 80 per cent of our rivers are heavily polluted while five of the top land-based ocean plastic sources are from countries in our region. Estimates put the cost of marine pollution to regional economies at a staggering US$1.3 billion.

A stray dog with a light blue hue is seen on a street near the Kasadi River in the Taloja industrial zone in Mumbai on August 17, where a factory accused of dumping dye into an Indian river has been shut down. Photo: AFP
A stray dog with a light blue hue is seen on a street near the Kasadi River in the Taloja industrial zone in Mumbai on August 17, where a factory accused of dumping dye into an Indian river has been shut down. Photo: AFP

If left unattended, these trends threaten to upend hard-won economic gains and hamper human development. But while these challenges appear intractable, the region has tremendous strengths and opportunities to draw from. Many countries hold solid track records of successful economic transformation. The capacity for promoting environmental sustainability as an integral pillar of sustainable development must now be developed across all countries in the region.

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