April 2013: The Asia-Pacific Resource Centre (APRC) of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has released a research paper examining the relationships between policies for economic and human development, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which identifies both mitigation and adaptation actions for countries in the region.

The report, titled “Climate Change, Growth and Human Development,” is issued as part of a series of UNDP’s Asia-Pacific Human Development Technical Background Papers.

The authors note that, while technology transfer through international cooperation provides some benefits, this alone will not be sufficient to reverse the basic tendency towards higher emissions as countries become wealthier.

They identify opportunities for mitigation in the areas of fossil fuel use, transportation and deforestation and forest degradation. They also note the potential for carbon sequestration in soils, and reducing methane emissions in the rice and livestock sectors.

On adaptation, the authors call for increased investments in physical and social infrastructure, information systems, and extension services provided by governments. They recommend that aid donors focus on improving road networks, ports, airports, railway facilities, and telecommunications, especially in Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and that these efforts be additional to existing official development assistance (ODA). [Publication: Climate Change, Growth and Human Development] [APRC Background Papers Webpage]