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  Business Times Singapore 29 Jan 07
Asian CEOs most concerned about climate change: survey
(DAVOS) To chief executives in Asia, the threat of global warming seems very real, but it is less so to those in the United States or Russia.

A survey of chief executives around the world, released at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last week, found widespread optimism about profits and nearly universal complaints about excessive regulation of business.

Overall, 40 per cent of the chief executives surveyed said they were either somewhat concerned or extremely concerned about global warming. But in the US, the figure was less than half as high, only 18 per cent. By contrast, the figure was 49 per cent for chief executives in China, 60 per cent for South Korean chiefs and 70 per cent for Japanese bosses.

'Asian CEOs see global warming as worth worrying about,' commented Samuel DiPiazza, the chief executive of PricewaterhouseCoopers, which conducted the poll via phone and face-to-face interview from September to December of last year.

Referring to a surprisingly warm winter in this ski resort, he added: 'Maybe the North American CEOs will notice there is a lot more green outside than snow.' (A snowstorm soon arrived, however.)

Russian executives were even less worried than the Americans. Just one of the 31 Russians interviewed admitted to having a moderate concern about global warming, and none said they were extremely concerned.

Within Western Europe, the figures were all over the place. Italian bosses voiced less concern than Americans, but more than half of the German chief executives said they were worried.

The survey of 1,084 executives also asked if companies were devoting resources to dealing with global warming. Around the globe, 46 per cent of the companies said they had spent some money, but in the US the figure was just 26 per cent.

There may be some cultural differences at work, at least in terms of what chief executives think is expected of them. American chief executives were hesitant to say they were extremely concerned about any of the 17 risks they were asked about, perhaps thinking that to admit such concerns would be to acknowledge they were not on top of the situation.

Only two issues - overregulation and dealing with low-cost competitors - were of extreme concern to as many as a quarter of the American chief executives. Japanese chief executives, on the other hand, say they are concerned about almost everything. A majority of Japanese chiefs are extremely concerned by most of the issues.

One issue of relatively little concern in Europe and the Americas - but of considerable concern in Asia - is the risk of a downturn in major economies. That risk is of extreme concern to only 8 per cent of German executives, 18 per cent of British bosses and 15 per cent of those in the US. In Latin America, the figure is just 7 per cent. In Russia, it is 10 per cent. But in South Korea, 87 per cent of companies say they are extremely concerned about such a downturn, as are 61 per cent of Japanese companies and 45 per cent of Chinese bosses.

Those who have prospered from exporting to Europe and America are not completely sanguine that the good times will continue. - NYT
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