WB urges countries to see climate change as an economic issue

Participants at the World Economic Forum on East Asia on Friday urged countries, especially those in Asia, to adopt a holistic approach in dealing with the effects of climate change.

“What we are desperate to do is to bring the climate conversation out of the ministry of environment exclusively and put it right on the table of the ministry of finance, planning, budget,” said World Bank vice-president and special envoy on climate change, Rachel Kyte, in a report on GMA News' "24 Oras."



Kyte pointed to the Philippine as an example of this holistic approach, in which climate change effects are seen as an economic issue as well as an environmental one. “In that case, the Philippines has been in the lead... Everybody here is focused on climate as a central government challenge,” she said.

The Philippines' natural disaster mitigation mechanism was tested last year when super typhoon Yolanda, the most powerful storm ever to make landfall in recorded history, struck the Visayas, leaving more than 6,000 people dead and billions of pesos in damage.

And based on the latest United Nations risk report, in which global temperatures are expected to increase by two degrees Celsius in 2030 and by four degree Celsius by the end of the century, there is a possibility the hotter climate will affect typhoon strength, testing climate change policies further.

Kyte said it was crucial for the governments to include the business sector in climate change discussions, and that the sector should be encouraged to venture into “green” business.

Kim Dong Kwan, managing director of Hanwha Group, a multi-national company with operations in manufacturing, construction, finance and services, said that there were growing investment opportunities in renewable energy.

“For us, as a core profit enterprise, we are always looking at market trends in the world, where can we make money, where could we put our innovative forces and make a return. And I think, green energy really is starting to make economic sense,” Kwan said. — Elizabeth Marcelo/DVM, GMA News