ID :
56982
Thu, 04/23/2009 - 10:14
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/56982
The shortlink copeid
BANGKOK PRODUCES MORE CARBON THAN LONDON
By D. Arul Rajoo
BANGKOK, April 23 (Bernama) -- Bangkok residents produced as much carbon dioxide (CO2) as New Yorkers, and surpassed Londoners in their emissions, according to the Bangkok Assessment Report on Climate Change 2009 released Wednesday.
Both the Thai capital, with a 10 million population, and New York emitted
7.1 tonnes per capita in 2007, which were higher than that of London's
residents, at 5.9 tonnes per capita.
In 2005, Bangkok's total emissions of 43m tons almost equalled London and
surpassed Toronto (44m tonnes and 24m tonnes, respectively).
Park Young-Woo, Regional Director of the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, hoped the report
would raise awareness of the issues and help safeguard the city's economy and
its inhabitants.
As rising greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), such as CO2, were primary
contributors of warming temperatures, the likely consequences on the city,
already prone to flooding and land subsistence, would be severe, the report
said.
It said Bangkok and its suburbs were already experiencing more severe and
frequent flooding and more days with temperatures beyond 35 degree celcius,
adding that the city's dominance as Thailand's economic hub suggested that
there would be economic repercussions for the country, as well.
About 90 per cent of emissions come from transportation, electricity
generation and solid and waste water, said the report, which is produced by the
Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA) and the Bangkok-based Green Leaf
Foundation, with support from the UNEP.
The transport sector, responsible for almost 38 per cent of CO2 annually, is
the largest contributor, particularly for passenger vehicles, which have seen a
seven-fold increase from 1980 to 1999.
Infrastructure, water, health and food production are some of the areas
highlighted by the report that will be impacted.
Land subsidence, when combined with a rising sea-level could leave Bangkok
in 50-100cm of water by 2025, while rising temperatures could also affect the
flow of waters in the Chao Phraya and Mae Klong rivers, from which most of
Bangkok's water supply is drawn.
The report also mentioned increased heat-related diseases and incidences and
spread of diseases like malaria and dengue fever, all of which might extract a
high economic toll.
-- BERNAMA
BANGKOK, April 23 (Bernama) -- Bangkok residents produced as much carbon dioxide (CO2) as New Yorkers, and surpassed Londoners in their emissions, according to the Bangkok Assessment Report on Climate Change 2009 released Wednesday.
Both the Thai capital, with a 10 million population, and New York emitted
7.1 tonnes per capita in 2007, which were higher than that of London's
residents, at 5.9 tonnes per capita.
In 2005, Bangkok's total emissions of 43m tons almost equalled London and
surpassed Toronto (44m tonnes and 24m tonnes, respectively).
Park Young-Woo, Regional Director of the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, hoped the report
would raise awareness of the issues and help safeguard the city's economy and
its inhabitants.
As rising greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), such as CO2, were primary
contributors of warming temperatures, the likely consequences on the city,
already prone to flooding and land subsistence, would be severe, the report
said.
It said Bangkok and its suburbs were already experiencing more severe and
frequent flooding and more days with temperatures beyond 35 degree celcius,
adding that the city's dominance as Thailand's economic hub suggested that
there would be economic repercussions for the country, as well.
About 90 per cent of emissions come from transportation, electricity
generation and solid and waste water, said the report, which is produced by the
Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA) and the Bangkok-based Green Leaf
Foundation, with support from the UNEP.
The transport sector, responsible for almost 38 per cent of CO2 annually, is
the largest contributor, particularly for passenger vehicles, which have seen a
seven-fold increase from 1980 to 1999.
Infrastructure, water, health and food production are some of the areas
highlighted by the report that will be impacted.
Land subsidence, when combined with a rising sea-level could leave Bangkok
in 50-100cm of water by 2025, while rising temperatures could also affect the
flow of waters in the Chao Phraya and Mae Klong rivers, from which most of
Bangkok's water supply is drawn.
The report also mentioned increased heat-related diseases and incidences and
spread of diseases like malaria and dengue fever, all of which might extract a
high economic toll.
-- BERNAMA
