CLIMATE CHANGE CAN SHRINK WORLD ECONOMY BY 20 PCT

KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 (Bernama) -- Climate change will shrink the global
economy by 20 percent, according to the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers
(FMM).

Taking action to mitigate the effects of climate change and adapting to the
its effects, is at an estimated staggering cost of about one percent of global
gross domestic product (GDP), FMM said in a statement Saturday.

FMM said the role that business should play in addressing climate change
needs to be discussed, as the private sector is seen as the critical provider of
cost effective solutions to the problem.

"Business plays a central role in the development and use of existing and
new, cost effective and efficient energy technologies ,with low greenhouse gas
emissions in all sectors," FMM president Datuk Mustafa Mansur said.

"Business needs clear, predictable and stable frameworks for long-term
planning and investment in projects related to energy access, supply and energy
efficiency," he added.

In order to address the climate change issue, the Sixth World Chambers
Congress to be held next month, will assess the outlook for the next decade on
climate, energy demand, the economy and the consumer.

Organised by the ICC World Chambers Federation and hosted by FMM, the
congress will see the participation of over 1,000 local and international
participants at a plenary session on the Economic Implications of Climate
Change.

According to FMM, the former World Bank chief economist, Lord Nicholas
Stern,who steered the most comprehensive review ever carried out on the
economics of climate change, will share his experiences with the congress.

The former president of Costa Rica, Jose Maria Figueres, will be sharing the
platform with him.

The session will also examine what inputs business can make to the
finalisation of an agreement, scheduled for the end of this year in Copenhagen,
on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
--BERNAMA