Climate change could slow SEAsia growth almost 7 pct: IMF

MYsinchem.com , 2010-03-22 15:37

HANOI, March 22 (AFP) - Southeast Asian economic growth could slow this century by almost seven percent a year unless action is taken against climate change, a senior IMF official said Monday.

"If nothing is done, Southeast Asia could lose the equivalent of 6.75 percent of GDP each year by the end of this century. That's more than twice the estimated global average," John Lipsky, first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), told a conference in Hanoi.

He said climate change is "one of the greatest long-term risks facing the developing world" and Southeast Asia is particularly vulnerable because of its long populated coastlines and its reliance on agriculture, natural resources and forestry.

"The incipient effects of climate change already are notable: exacerbating water shortages, threatening food security and increasing health risks," Lipsky said.

He was speaking to an international gathering of policymakers, diplomats, analysts and non-governmental groups discussing post-crisis growth and poverty reduction in Asia's developing countries.

In January, IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said the agency is planning a 100-billion-dollar fund to help countries mitigate the effects of climate change.

Among its aims, the IMF seeks to reduce poverty, foster global monetary cooperation and secure financial stability.