Climate-Friendly Transportation Strategies in Asia: Overcoming Obstacles to Co-benefits
Organizer:
Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)
Schedule and Venue:
11 November 2008 (full day)
Room: Bangkok Panorama 1
Pre-event Rationale:
Rising rates of motorization in developing Asia have become a source of concern outside and inside the region. Outside the region this concern stems from projections that carbon emissions from Asia’s transport sector could triple by 2025. Inside the region it stems from projections that urban air pollution levels, fuel costs, and commuting times could increase just as sharply over the same period. The key to altering these projections may lie in integrated transportation policies. Integrated transportation policies are so named because, rather than focusing on either developmental or climate goals, they pursue both objectives simultaneously. Integrated policies therefore have the potential to be more cost-effective than isolated climate or developmental policies.
A number of studies have demonstrated this potential by estimating the developmental benefits of integrated policies. These benefits are commonly referred to as co-benefits. The values of co-benefits are often found to be significant in developing Asia, which would presumably draw interest from regional policymakers. But while the influence of this research seems likely to expand, thus far its impacts on policies have been limited.
The event is expected to include presentations on analytical frameworks for analysis of barriers, case studies from Asia, and on potential mechanisms to recognize and reward co-benefits in the climate regime beyond 2012.
Objectives:
- To understand the opportunities for and obstacles to maximizing the co-benefits of transportation policies in developing Asia.
- To propose countermeasures based on that assessment, especially in the context of negotiations on the Bali Action Plan for the post-2012 climate regime
Expected number of participants: 20-25
Contact:
Dr. Ancha Srinivasan and Dr. Eric Zusman,
Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES),
2108-11 Kamiyamaguchi, Hayama, Kanagawa 240-0115 JAPAN,
PHONE: +81-46-855-3810,
FAX: +81-46-855-3809,
EMAIL: cp-info@iges.or.jp
