26 Jan 2008 12:33:00 pm

Go green or pursue growth

woots just found an article. finished all my ECs though. =.=
hmm. sian. ib made me read newspapers this way. --

growing their economies to raise living standards and reduce poverty and cannot be expected to forgo this to curb global warming- section 5

grow in an environmentally friendly way should be pursued, such as pricing energy correctly and pursuing sustainable development- S5. sustainable devt!

greenhouse gas emissions after the Kyoto Protocol runs out in 2010, as well as others on water shortages and poverty alleviation. -S2.4 externalities

Economic growth, he said, had helped Asian countries to grow and raise living standards for billions of their people. It had contributed to the stability in the region, as well as prosperity in the global economy.

This push for rapid economic growth would mean more pollution, he said, adding that 'realistically, emissions are bound to increase...this is a human and economic reality'.

PM Lee said Asian countries were reluctant to constrain energy usage when the current greenhouse gas problem was the result of past emissions by the developed countries and, as Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh noted recently, they could not be expected to do more than their richer counterparts to tackle the problem.

Mr Lee threw up three suggestions. Firstly, take practical steps which are in countries' own interest. One of these would be to price energy properly. Subsidising energy in China, India and South-east Asia has led to over-consumption and waste, he noted.

'If they phase out these subsidies, their economies will perform much better, and greener,' he said.

somemore got subsidies! and might be able to evaluate too. =/!