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asia
24 regional focus
www.iiasa.ac.atoptions
â—Ľ summer 2017
Most nations agree that reducing CO2
emissions worldwide is the best way
to address climate change. Solutions
for addressing this fact, however, are not so
simple.
Indonesia, a country that relies heavily
on its agriculture and forestry industries,
has been a leader in self-directed emissions
reductions. It has served as an example of
how even countries that depend heavily on
Cities undergoing rapid economic growth often face the challenge
of balancing continued growth with their environmental impact. In
traditional growth models, the more a city has grown, the greater
its environmental impact has been, particularly in carbon emissions.
But in today’s world, that no longer has to be the case. The
municipality of Chongqing in China has seen rapid economic growth in
the past two decades. Yet Chongqing has not done so at the expense
of the environment. In fact, the municipality has even managed
to reduce emissions of some pollutants during this rapid growth.
In a study published in the journal Ecological Indicators,
IIASA researcher Bing Zhu showed that between 1999 and
2010, the decoupling of Chongqing’s economic growth from its
environmental pressure was absolute for emissions of sulphur
dioxide, soot, and waste water, while total energy consumption
remained the same, as did CO2 emissions and solid waste. Chongqing’s emissions rate is now below average emissions for
all municipalities across China and has had significant impact on
economic development. Chongqing even improved its emissions
output in the last half of that period, demonstrating that responsible
economic growth for global sustainable development is possible.
“Our findings show that you don’t have to contribute more to
carbon-based emissions in order to undergo economic growth on a
city level,” explains Zhu, coauthor of the new study. “We believe that
these findings provide a model for policymakers to use to separate
the idea of rapid growth from adverse environmental impact.” JS
Reducing CO2 emissions in Indonesia
these industries change their way of thinking
and reduce their carbon footprint.
In 2009, Indonesia pledged a 26%
reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020 and a
further 29% by 2030. To achieve its goal,
Indonesia implemented policies protecting
existing forests as well as establishing enough
plants to create new forests and plantations.
In a study published in the journal
Sustainability, IIASA researcher Tomoko
Further info Yu Y, Zhou L, Zhou W, Ren H, Kharrazi A, Ma T, & Zhu B (2017).
Decoupling environmental pressure from economic growth on city level:
The Case Study of Chongqing in China. Ecological Indicators 75: 27-35.
[pure.iiasa.ac.at/14202].
Bing Zhu zhu@iiasa.ac.at
Hasegawa showed that Indonesia’s plan
has been effective. The study showed that
Indonesia achieved a 58% total reduction in
emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other
land-use sectors. Although rising carbon prices
may prevent Indonesia from fully realizing the
2020 goal, the country is still on track to meet
its goal for 2030.
“It is imperative that countries around
the globe act on reducing their carbon
emission outputs. The future of our planet
depends on it,” explains Hasegawa, author
of the new study. “Indonesia is an excellent
example of how measured action, particularly
in non-energy sectors such as forestry
and agriculture, can achieve the desired
results.” JS
Further info Hasegawa T, Fujimori S, Boer R,
Immanuel G, & Masui T (2016). Land-Based
Mitigation Strategies under the Mid-Term Carbon
Reduction Targets in Indonesia. Sustainability 8 (12):
e1283. [pure.iiasa.ac.at/14115]
Tomoko Hasegawa hasegawa@iiasa.ac.at
Separating economic growth from environmental impact
zurĂĽck zum
Buch options, Band summer 2017"
options
Band summer 2017
- Titel
- options
- Band
- summer 2017
- Ort
- Laxenburg
- Datum
- 2017
- Sprache
- englisch
- Lizenz
- CC BY-NC 4.0
- Abmessungen
- 21.0 x 29.7 cm
- Seiten
- 32
- Kategorien
- Zeitschriften Options Magazine