Press Release

Page 1

December 7, 2007

PRESS RELEASE THINK TANKS CALL FOR “STIR FRY” OF OPTIONS, AS ASIA NOT YET READY FOR BINDING TARGETS FOR NOW, ASIA SHOULD FOCUS ON ALIGNING DEVELOPMENT WITH ACHIEVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND A LOW-CARBON FUTURE. For Immediate Release HONG KONG, December 06, 2007 – Negotiators in Bali are unlikely to get Asian developing countries to agree to binding greenhouse emissions targets for now in the post-Kyoto climate change agreement, a report released today by think tanks Civic Exchange and the Singapore Institute for International Affairs argues. The report, “Climate Change Negotiations: An Asian Stir Fry of Options”, calls upon negotiators to focus on aligning the interests of developing countries to achieve energy security and sustainable development through energy efficiency and a low-carbon future instead. “Because of the hard-to-predict growth trajectories of developing countries in Asia, it is extremely difficult to estimate future carbon emissions and set meaningful targets”, said Christine Loh of the Civic Exchange, one of the report’s lead authors. “However, Asian developing countries are not exempt from responsibility. They must do their ‘homework’ on climate change adaptation and mitigation, and obligate themselves to take actions that can lead to emissions reduction”. The report offers an ‘Asian Stir Fry of Options’ for how the future agreement can help developing countries build the national institutions and policy to effectively address the effects of climate change. This includes reforming the ‘Clean Development Mechanism’ to align sustainable development—a high priority in many Asian countries—with climate change reduction goals; setting up an international ‘Clearing House’ to help countries assess technology options; and focusing on adaptation measures. Simon Tay of the SIIA elaborated, “Although we need to ask developing countries to increase their responsibility, this must be matched and exceeded by developed countries. They must contribute financing and expertise for technology transfer and increase their mandatory emissions targets. Asian countries take non-binding agreements seriously, and when they have reached the same level of preparedness as developed countries, they will certainly be ready to make greater commitments”.

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Visit us at: www.civic-exchange.org 思匯政策研究所 香港中環雲咸街 69 號賀善尼大廈 7 樓 701 室 ROOM 701 HOSEINEE HOUSE, 69 WYNDHAM STREET CENTRAL, HONG KONG TEL: (852) 2893-0213 FAX: (852) 3105 9713


December 7, 2007

A full copy of the 'Climate Change Negotiations: an Asian Stir Fry of Options' report sponsored by CLP Group is available for download on the Civic Exchange website at http://www.civic-exchange.org/publications/2007/climate.pdf For enquiries, please contact: Ms Christine Loh cloh@civic-exchange.org +852 2893 0213 or 9802 8888 Mr Simon Tay chairman@siiaonline.org + 65 6734 9600 or 9767 6733 Ms Michele Weldon mweldon@civic-exchange.org +852 2893 0213 or 6271 4147

Civic Exchange is a non-profit public policy think tank based in Hong Kong that helps to improve policy and decision-making through research and analysis. For more information about Civic Exchange, please visit www.civic-exchange.org

Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) is a non-profit, non-government organisation dedicated to the research, analysis and discussion of regional and international issues. For more information on SIIA, please visit www.siiaonline.org

Visit us at: www.civic-exchange.org 思匯政策研究所 香港中環雲咸街 69 號賀善尼大廈 7 樓 701 室 ROOM 701 HOSEINEE HOUSE, 69 WYNDHAM STREET CENTRAL, HONG KONG TEL: (852) 2893-0213 FAX: (852) 3105 9713


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