Vinod Thomas - Climate Change and Natural Disasters: Transforming Economies and Policies for a Sustainable Future

Climate Change and Natural Disasters

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Transforming Economics and Policies for a Sustainable Future

Vinod Thomas

Published 2017 by Routledge

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Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2016027013

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

ISBN-13: 978-1-4128-6440-4 (hbk)

Names: Thomas, Vinod, 1949- author.

Title: Climate change and natural disasters : transforming economies and policies for a sustainable future / Vinod Thomas.

Description: New Brunswick (U.S.A.) : Transaction Publishers, [2016] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016027013 (print) | LCCN 2016027708 (ebook) | ISBN 9781412864404 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781412864527 (eBook) | ISBN 9781412864527

Subjects: LCSH: Climate change mitigation--Economic aspects. | Climatic changes--Economic aspects. | Natural disasters--Economic aspects. | Environmental economics. | Sustainable development.

Classification: LCC QC903 .T488 2016 (print) | LCC QC903 (ebook) | DDC 363.738/747--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016027013

To Dear Tejin
Who inspired our concern for nature

I would like to thank Rajesh Pradhan, Ruth Francisco, Alice Martha Lee, and Marianne Juco for their special contribution at various stages of the writing of the book. Special thanks go to Erich Vogt, John Hay, Mohan Munasinghe, and Neil Britton for peer reviewing the manuscript.

My sincerest appreciation goes to the team leaders, staff, and the management team at the Asian Development Banks Independent Evaluation Department. I am grateful for their generous support, advice, and inputs during the various phases of preparing the manuscript. Valuable comments from the following individuals are acknowledged: Ari Perdana, Kapil Thukral, Tomoo Ueda, Andrew Brubaker, Jiro Tominaga, Hans van Rijn, Walter Kolkma, Bob Finlayson, Joey Tan, and Garret Kilroy. I also gratefully acknowledge Gillian Morzal and Michael Diza for support.

I also wish to thank Satinder Bindra and his team at the Department of External Relations for the valuable comments and suggestions, as well as, editorial and publication support.

The drive for economic growth, especially in Asia, brought striking economic gains over the past half a century. That progress came at a heavy cost in the form of environmental degradation as well as income disparities, raising concerns over the sustainability of the past pattern of growth. Facing an economic downturn today, policymakers would like to regain the growth momentum, but there is an emerging realization that future growth needs to be different and of better quality.

Climate change is the greatest price society is paying for decades of environmental neglect. The impact of global warming is most visible in the rising threat of climate-related natural disasters. Hazards of nature have always been with us, but the growing incidence of floods, storms, and droughts all across the world is putting a spotlight on the need for action. As this book argues, it will be harder to sustain growth unless the worst effects of climate change, notably natural calamities, are averted. Sustainability, understood as meeting the needs of the present without endangering future generations, is key to these efforts. Today, as countries grapple with the perils of climate change, sustainability has come to encompass a more mutually dependent set of environmental, economic, and social goals.

The books focus on climate change and natural disasters is timely. The Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in 2015 in Japan set out the Sendai Framework for disaster risk reduction for 20152030. Global initiatives are backing a new development agenda for the next fifteen years with the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals by member countries of the United Nations. After decades of disappointment, action on climate change is gaining momentum and traction, with a global deal on emissions adopted at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in December 2015.

Averting the worst effects of climate change is a big part of that agenda. We need to recognize the rising threat of hazards of nature and build in prevention into development programs. Turning aspiration for climate action and disaster prevention will require considerable resources and political will. Dealing with environmental deterioration and climate change as well as social inequities is not an impediment, but rather an aid, to economic growth. In fact going forward, it is the only way we can have lasting growth. Governments, businesses, civil society, and international institutions have a key role to play in supporting policies and investments for more sustainable growth.

Takehiko Nakao

President, Asian Development Bank

The first half of the 2010s will be remembered for deadly climate-related disasters. Among them the great floods in Thailand in 2011, Hurricane Sandy in the United States in 2012, and Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013. Notably, it is hydrometeorological (floods, storms, heatwaves) and climatological (droughts, wildfires) disasters that are increasing, and not geophysical ones (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions). Floods and storms displace the most people. In 2014, 17.5 million people were displaced by climate-related disasters, ten times more than the 1.7 million displaced by geophysical hazards.

The surge of intense floods, storms, droughts, and heatwaves has an ominous link to climate change. Global temperatures have been steadily on the rise and 2015 was the hottest year since records began in 1880. Attention to climate-related disasters, arguably the most tangible manifestation of global warming, could help mobilize broader climate action. It could also be instrumental in transitioning to a path of low-carbon, green growth.