Developing Asia’s response to climate change

Developing Asia’s growing demand for fossil fuels not only adds pressure on the domestic economy of each country due to higher energy bills but also strangles the region’s environmental health with the growing emissions. The need for poverty reduction and economic development simultaneously forces the region to continue to depend heavily on conventional fossil fuels, making way for surging emissions. Responding to climate change while meeting energy needs requires an efficient and inclusive energy strategy that could balance the economic development and environmental objectives. This chapter aims to understand countries’ existing policy landscape towards the Paris Agreement on CO₂ mitigation. It also explores the opportunities to reshape the energy policy of developing Asia that promote or inhibit low carbon development. The chapter argues that Asian developing countries have already taken substantial initiatives, but these are fragmented and remain largely insufficient to achieve global targets on climate change. Therefore, additional efforts will be needed. Upscaling the policy of regional power integration and adoption of low carbon technology will be key catalysts for substantial changes in an energy mix that will favour climate change mitigation in developing Asia.