Examines the domestic politics, foreign policy and international relations of climate change in China, Japan and Southeast Asia, often disproportionately affected; increasing our understanding of a region vital to mitigating and coping with climate.

Global Warming and East Asia analyses the domestic politics, foreign policy and international relations of climate change in East and Southeast Asia, The countries of this important region are often disproportionately affected by climate change and, as they expand and develop, their contribution to the problem grows. The contributors investigate the increasingly widespread and disparate efforts to address global warming at international, national and local levels, and in so doing increase our understanding of a region vital to mitigating and coping with climate change. This unique volume includes in-depth studies of China and Japan, two of the most important countries in East Asia with regard to global warming, and examines the role of East and Southeast Asian countries, such as Indonesia and the Philippines, in combating the problem.

"Publication stock no. RPT125169-2"--Verso of title page.

East Asia, with its large, fast-growing population and rapid industrialization, is an important area for global environmental problems, both in terms of the generation of greenhouse gases and the effects of any change in crop yields. The probable climate changes caused by increased concentrations of greenhouse gases and the modeling of plant production, vegetation distribution, phenological events, and lake ecosystems are discussed in this book. Besides providing an overview and synthesis of recent research, this volume shows the importance of analyzing local field data on microclimates, soil environments, the extent of snow cover, and the productivity of mountain vegetation. The possible effects of increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide and rising temperatures on rice yield are shown from controlled environment experiments. This book will be particularly valuable to researchers and students in the fields of ecology, crop science, forestry, and environmental sciences as well as being of interest to anyone concerned with global environmental problems.

Since in the current global environmental and climate crisis East Asia will play a major role in negotiating solutions, it is vital to understand East Asian cultural variations in approaching and solving environmental challenges in the past, present, and future. The interdisciplinary volume Nature, Environment and Culture in East Asia. The Challenge of Climate Change, edited by Carmen Meinert, explores how cultural patterns and ideas have shaped a specific understanding of nature, how local and regional cultures develop(ed) coping strategies to adapt to environmental and climatic changes in the past and in the present and how various institutions and representatives might introduce their ideas and agendas in future environmental and climate policies on national levels and in international negotiating systems.

This regional study includes the People's Republic of China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Mongolia and examines how strategies for adapting to climate change up to 2050 can be combined with measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in East Asia. Besides discussing climate model results for costs of adaptation in infrastructure, coastal protection, and agriculture, the study estimates costs for sector-specific mitigation options and the total abatement potential for 2020 and 2030. Long-term strategies for addressing the impacts of climate change in East Asia are explored with a focus on the linkages between adaptation and mitigation taking account uncertainty about key climate variables. Finally, it discusses opportunities for enhancing the effectiveness of some critical climate change policies such as regional carbon market.

This book is the first to present a regional analysis of climate change and human health, focusing on geographically and socio-economically distinct countries of South and Southeast Asia. It has a major focus on India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal and Taiwan. Climate change is a significant and emerging threat to human health. lt represents a range of environmental hazards and will affect populations in both the developed and developing countries. In particular, it affects the regions where the current burden of climate-sensitive diseases are high, which is the case in South and Southeast Asian countries.