Citing a study by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which reveals that
countries like Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam would lose
6.7 per cent of GDP every year due to climate change, Dr. Bindu N.
Lohani, distinguished AIT alumnus and Vice-President (Finance and
Administration) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) stated that “all
countries had no choice but to take collective action”. Dr. Lohani
added that water scarcity could impact Central, South, East and South
East Asia; while coastal regions in South, East and SouthEast Asia face
the specter of environmental refugees.
In an extramural lecture delivered by Dr. Lohani on the topic
“Key Issues for a Successful Copenhagen Climate Change Summit: The Role
of Emerging Countries in Asia and the Role of AIT”, Dr. Lohani stressed
the need for institutes like AIT to emerge as leaders in research areas
in the field of climate change. “There are tremendous opportunities for
research in climate change, and not enough has been done so far”, Dr.
Lohani said. Current knowledge tends to focus on the macro level, and
enough country level knowledge in still not available, Dr. Lohani
remarked. There is not enough information to be able to arrive at an
investment decision, he added.
Dr. Lohani identified four important building blocks in the field of
climate change, namely mitigation, adaptation, technology transfer and
finance. In an inspiring lecture which had the audience spell bound,
Dr. Lohani stressed the need for Nationally Appropriate Mitigation
Actions (NAMAs) as well as sectoral agreements. Sectors like cement,
aluminum, steel, motor vehicles and aviation are more likely to be
suitable for energy efficiency savings.
The ADB Vice President identified urban planning and transport as a
difficult area. “Some of the mega cities in Asia have more people than
some European countries put together”, Dr. Lohani remarked. If we add
20 million cars for each one of the 20 million people living in cities,
then the whole city would become a parking lot, he remarked while
stressing the need for good mass rapid transport as a more efficient
means of transportation.
Dr. Lohani complimented China and India for their positive initiatives
in the area of renewable energy, while stating that 60 per cent of the
global increase in carbon emissions between 2005-2030 would emanate
from these two countries.
Elaborating on the scope of the Carbon market, Dr. Lohani said the
market was worth $100 billion but it was the bankers that were making
most of the money. If the US were to introduce carbon trading, the
market could touch $3 trillion per year by 2030.
Dr. Lohani said AIT was ideally suited to conduct research into
country specific issues related to climate change. Earlier Prof. Sudip
Kumar Rakshit, Vice President (Research) welcomed the ADB Vice
President and complimented him for maintaining a strong bond with the
AIT.
The pdf file of extramural lecture delivered by Dr. Bindu N. Lohani is
available here.
Audience at the extramural lecture
on “Key Issues for a Successful Copenhagen Climate Change Summit: The
Role of Emerging Countries in Asia and the Role of
AIT”.