The concept of green growth, coupled with one of green economy and low carbon development, is a global concern especially in the face of the multiple crises that the world has faced in recent years - climate, oil, food, and financial crises. In East Asia, this concept is regarded as the key in transforming cheap-labour dependent, export-oriented industries towards a more sustainable development. Green Growth and Low Carbon Development in East Asia examines the beginnings of low carbon, green growth in practice in East Asia and how effectively it has directed East Asian nations, especially Korea, China and Japan, to put environment and climate challenges as the core target zone for investment and growth. Special focus is paid to energy and international trade - areas in which these nations compete with pioneered nations of Europe and the United States to develop renewable energy industries and enhance their international competitiveness. On the basis of the lessons learned in East Asia, together with a comparison of Russia, this book discusses the applicability and limitations of this developmental approach taken by the developing nations and resource-rich emerging economies, including the conditions and contexts in which nations are able to transition into sustainable development through the use of low carbon, green growth strategies.

Asia must be at the center of the global fight against climate change. It is the world’s most populous region, with high economic growth, a rising share of global greenhouse gas emissions, and the most vulnerability to climate risks. Its current resource- and emission-intensive growth pattern is not sustainable. This study recognizes low-carbon green growth as an imperative—not an option—for developing Asia. Asia has already started to move toward low-carbon green growth. Many emerging economies have started to use sustainable development to bring competitiveness to their industries and to serve growing green technology markets. The aim of this study is to share the experiences of emerging Asian economies and the lessons learned. The book assesses the low-carbon and green policies and practices taken by Asian countries, identifies gaps, and examines new opportunities for low-carbon green growth.

This book reviews how far East Asian nations have implemented green fiscal reform, and show how they can advance carbon-energy tax reform to realize low-carbon development, with special reference to European policy and experience. East Asian nations are learning European experiences to adopt them in their political, economic and institutional contexts. However, implementation has been slow in practice, partly due to low acceptability that comes from the same concerns as in Europe, and partly due to weak institutional arrangements for the reform. The slow progress in the revenue side turns our eyes on expenditure side: how East Asian nations have increased environmental-related expenditures, and how far they have greened sectorial expenditures. This "lifecycle" assessment of the fiscal reform, coupled with the assessment of the institutional arrangement constitutes the features of this book. The book helps to provide overall picture of green fiscal reform and carbon-energy tax reform in the East Asian region. The region has a variety of countries, from lowest income to high-income nations. Nations have different interests in substance and barriers for reform. This book covers recent development of environmental fiscal reform and carbon-energy taxation in wider nations in the region, including South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Japan. In addition, the book's holistic view helps to understand why a specific nation has interest and concern on some aspects of the reforms.

East Asia is a key region in the global economy, including both the second and third largest global economies already and, led by China, continuing to expand at a rapid rate. This economic growth has led to unprecedented gains in prosperity in the region but it has also led to increasing environmental pressures and energy issues. This book assesses ways in which East Asia can continue or even increase existing rates of economic growth while at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental degradation. Using advanced modelling approaches, future scenarios for four East Asian countries are assessed in detail, including analysis of particular challenges in each country (e.g. coal power in China, nuclear power in Japan). Prospects for each country’s energy system are assessed in detail and the potential effects of various types of Environmental Tax Reform in the four countries are also considered carefully. The final section of the book explores the interaction between trade liberalization, a key driver of growth, and emission levels in the East Asia region.

Asia must be at the center of the global fight against climate change. It is the world's most populous region, with high economic growth, a rising share of global greenhouse gas emissions, and the most vulnerability to climate risks. Its current resource- and emission-intensive growth pattern is not sustainable. This study recognizes low-carbon green growth as an imperative-- not an option--for developing Asia. Asia has already started to move toward low-carbon green growth. Many emerging economies have started to use sustainable development to bring competitiveness to their industries and to serve growing green technology markets. The aim of this study is to share the experiences of emerging Asian economies and the lessons they have learned. The book assesses the low-carbon and green policies and practices taken by Asian countries, identifies gaps, and examines new opportunities for low-carbon green growth.

East Asia has experienced the fastest economic growth in the world over the last three decades, accompanied by a 10-fold gross domestic product increase and rapid urbanization. Energy consumption has more than tripled during this period and is expected to double over the next 20 years. This remarkable trend has led to twin energy challenges in the region environmental sustainability and energy security. Written for an audience of energy policy makers and practitioners, Winds of Change explores the region s energy future over the next two decades through two energy scenarios. It outlines the strategic direction East Asia s energy sector must take to meet its growing energy demand in an environmentally sustainable manner, and presents a pathway of policy frameworks and financing mechanisms to get there. The six East Asian countries China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam examined in this book could, with the right policies and financing, stabilize CO2 emissions by 2025, improve their local environment, and enhance energy security without compromising economic growth. They must move their energy sectors toward much higher efficiency and more widespread use of low-carbon technologies, while obtaining substantial financing and low-carbon technologies from developed countries. This clean energy revolution requires major policy and institutional reforms, including energy pricing reforms, regulations such as energy efficiency standards, financial incentives such as feed-in tariffs for renewable energy, and accelerated research and development. Finally, building low-carbon cities will be key to containing the rapid urban energy growth through compact urban design, public transport, clean vehicles, and green buildings. The window of opportunity is closing fast delaying action would lock the region into a longlasting high-carbon infrastructure. The technical and policy means exist for such transformational changes, but only strong political will and unprecedented international cooperation will make them happen.

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.