Asia's Clean Revolution: Industry Growth and the Environment [Hardcover]

David P. Angel (Editor), Michael T. Rock (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2000

The world's environmental future will be determined in significant part by what happens in the rapidly industrializing and urban economies of Asia. The sheer scale of urban population and industrial growth in Asia - from Indonesia to China - and the energy- and materials-intensive character of the development process, constitutes a dark shadow over the region's, and indeed the world's, environment. And yet this challenge is also an opportunity. Precisely because so much of the urban-industrial investment within developing Asia has yet to take place, the opportunity exists to shape a different development future - one that is far less energy-, materials- and waste-intensive. "Asia's Clean Revolution" examines the prospects for and pathways to such a new trajectory. The book lays out a vision of how developing economies might go beyond environmental regulation and put in place an array of policies and institutions that could integrate environmental, industrial and technological goals. These findings provide important input for negotiators considering climate change on a global scale. The book approaches the challenge of growth and environment in Asia in a novel way, by identifying six major transformational dynamics under way in the world today, and assessing whether these can be harnessed to the goal of improved environmental performance of industry. With a set of specially commissioned chapters from authorities in North America and Asia, this book presents concrete policy solutions to the looming crisis driven by large-scale urban-industrial growth in developing Asia.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In this new century and millennium, the people of the world need a vision of possibility and promise; of prosperity and wellbeing for all. Asia has offered the world that vision in the past. The great ancient Asian societies gave the world science, music, poetry, elemental foundations of mathematics. And in the recent past Asia has offered us the Green Revolution and the Quality Revolution, both aimed at addressing some of society's most pressing needs. Now it is time for a Clean Revolution. In collaboration with the United States and with the support of programmes such as those offered by the US-Asia Environmental Partnership, Asia again can lead the world, offering today that vision of a clean and healthy future that is so urgently needed. This book, while lucidly presenting the challenges, also offers a compelling compendium of the programmes that work. I hope leaders the world over will absorb its message and chart the course for a Clean Revolution now.' Kathleen McGinty, Chair, US Council on Environmental Quality (1995-98). 'Asia's Clean Revolution puts forward a superb diagnosis of the environmental and economic challenges presented by rapid urbanisation and industrialisation in Asia. The book should be on the reading list of policy-makers in Asia, the United States, and around the world.' James Gustave Speth, Dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies; former head of the United Nations Development Programme. 'The authors address Asia's burgeoning environmental concerns by going to the roots of environmental performance: the policies of trade, technology, investment and governance. By seeking to improve the environmental content of these roots and focusing on the 'intensity' of materials, energy, pollution and waste in economic growth, the book recognises the critical importance of policy creativity and industrial efficiency - prior to the emplacement of a whole new generation of industrial capacity.' The Honorable Don Ritter, ScD, US Congressman and now President of the National Environmental Policy Institute, Washington, DC. 'The Asian crisis will soon be over and in the coming years Asia will be back on a path to development. Past development has brought resource degradation and pollution in Asia. And this has occurred while industry is still in its infancy in the region. The future development path will be based on more intensive agricultural development, a broader base of industrial development and accompanied urban growth. We must not pursue this development path 'business-as-usual', but must follow the road toward clean shared growth in Asia. This book shows the path worth taking in meeting the sustainable development challenges of the future.' Emil Salim, Chairman, National Economic Council, Republic of Indonesia. 'Asia's Clean Revolution makes a most profound point: that reconciling economic and environmental goals will be possible only through a transformation in technology and industrial organisation - a shift unprecedented in scope and pace, to new technologies and systems that will dramatically reduce environmental impact per unit of prosperity. In other words, nothing short of a 'clean revolution' will do. This book constitutes a superb diagnosis and prescription for a more sustainable growth path in the context of the rapidly evolving Asia region. The various ideas and proposals represent an important, transformative vision for the changing global circumstance - as well as a positive, powerful initiative for the environment.' Owen Cylke, US-Asia Environmental Partnership and Winrock International, USA, and Somporn Kamolsiripichaiporn, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. 'Global shifts in industrial regimes are creating new growth opportunities and creating new environmental and social inequities at the same time. Coming to grips with the complexities of economic development, environmental quality and social equity requires a broad, research-based foundation, and this book provides the needed grounding for policy-makers, scholars, activists and business strategists.' Kurt Fischer, Co-founder and US Co-ordinator, The Greening of Industry Network. 'As East Asia recovers from the devastating financial crisis of 1997-98, it will be crucial for the region to avoid the temptation of short-sighted environmental neglect in order to retrieve industrial competitiveness, e.g. by co-ordinating environmental policies. Countries in the region urgently need to more effectively address the fast-growing problem of industrial pollution. While the more developed countries in the region have had some success in developing competent and effective environmental authorities, lower-income countries remain keen to attract 'dirty' low-tech industries. This timely volume draws important lessons from recent experience in the region to suggest appropriate policies for achieving sustainable development on the basis of late industrialisation. Most crucially, new firms and industries will need special help and incentives to effectively integrate appropriate environmental considerations into accelerated technological development policies.' K.S. Jomo, Professor of Economics, University of Malaya. 'An interesting and well-structured book which offers practical insights into how policy might be refined to bring real environmental benefits in both Asia and the rest of the world.' Community Affairs Briefing."

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Greenleaf Pubns (June 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1874719330
• ISBN-13: 978-1874719335
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,487,741 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)