Beijing: Emissions in India and China set to rise as Asia-Pacific region faces mounting challenges in tackling climate change, water scarcity, species extinction and hazardous waste as its economy forges ahead, a UN report has warned.
The region needs to improve governance structures and accountability and scale up successful policy initiatives to achieve sustainable development, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a report.
By 2030, China and India would account for more than half of transport-related emissions worldwide, which was projected to increase by 57 per cent from the 2005 level, it said.
More than 450 million people in the Asia-Pacific still had no access to clean drinking water in 2008, accounting for over 40 per cent of the world total, and only a handful of the region's countries have established the necessary legal and institutional capacities for integrated water resources management.
The Asia-Pacific region was also under growing pressure on bio-diversity, as government efforts lag behind the extent of habitat loss and degradation, over exploitation, alien species invasion, climate change and pollution, it added.
Unsustainable growth, population growth, rapid urbanisation and consumption increase impact on the region's environment, according to the fifth edition of the Global Environment Outlook report released by the UNEP in Beijing.
Under a business as usual scenario, the Asia-Pacific was expected to contribute approximately 45 per cent of global energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2030 and an estimated 60 per cent by 2100, the report said.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, June 07, 2012, 09:36