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  Channel NewsAsia 25 Jun 07
SM Goh calls for pragmatic leadership to meet global challenges

Straits Times 26 Jun 07
West and Asia in environmental blame game
By Audrey Tan

Channel NewsAsia 25 Jun 07
Countries agree to tackle environmental problems together

SINGAPORE: A key point raised at a session during the World Economic Forum on East Asia is to stop blaming one another for the world's environmental problems and to start working on ways to solve them together.

Countries like Malaysia feel they are often being blamed for contributing to environmental problems. So it questioned why the country has not been recognised for the good it has done, such as making sure it does not exhaust its petroleum products.

Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Malaysia's Second Finance Minister, said: "Let's take the hypocrisy out of this formula where the countries without trees keep telling the countries with trees to stop chopping them down and to slow down growth.

"It's a collective, collaborative effort that is required and the developed countries will have to play their role rather than treat the whole issue in a very adversarial and bias basis."

Panel members also believe multi-lateral institutions have a part to play in driving sustainable growth.

But many added that big countries should take the lead. For example, if the US ratifies international agreements like the Kyoto Protocol, this may help to pave the way for a changed behaviour towards issues like climate change and energy efficiency. The Kyoto Protocol sets legal binding timelines for industrialised countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Ralph Peterson, Chairman & CEO, CH2M Hill Companies, said: "It's very unfortunate that not every country, including the United States of America, has been willing to make the kind of leadership commitments that are required to catalyse action.

"I believe that's in the process of changing and I'm operationally optimistic that we'll get this problem solved, if we can move beyond the issue of blaming one another and to concentrate on letting the market help us solve these problems through concerted efforts of all the parties involved."

Many of the panel members agree that individual countries have their own models and systems to tackle environmental problems, so it is ideal for countries to come together and discuss strategies that are beneficial for all, instead of having a few nations impose their framework on other developing countries.

One example of partnership is where Japan is committed to offering some kind of financial assistance to help reduce further global warming. - CNA/so

Straits Times 26 Jun 07
West and Asia in environmental blame game
By Audrey Tan

WESTERN countries should stop pointing the finger at emerging economies on environmental issues, as they are themselves guilty of the same crimes, Asian panellists at the World Economic Forum (WEF) said yesterday.

The industrialisation of the Western world created the same pollution problems a century ago. American and European companies also own the factories that are now polluting the environment in countries like China, the forum heard.

'They are benefiting from the cheap labour, from the resources and at the same time, they are accusing China. That is wrong. There should be no hypocrisy,' said Malaysia's Second Minister of Finance Nor Mohamed Yakcop.

Yesterday's WEF session on sustainable growth in Asia was characterised by passionate debate and fiery accusations, even as the panellists agreed that they should not be fixated on assigning blame.

Mr Nor Mohamed found fault with even the framework for discussion put up by the WEF, saying it was 'biased' in focusing on Asia's environmental track record.

'The topic is valid, but the countries without trees are telling the countries with trees to stop chopping them down and slow down growth,' he said

But the developing world cannot slow down growth because its people need to be lifted out of poverty to enjoy the quality of life taken for granted in the West, he said.

Similarly, China's Hainan Airlines chairman Chen Feng said that if not for China's rapid development, the United States would still be the world's biggest polluter.

Environmental protection is a global problem because developed countries helped create pollution in the developing world when they transferred their industries over, he said.

Playing the blame game will not help when all are equally culpable, he added. He cited the destruction of China's Old Summer Palace - or Yuanmingyuan - by the French and English back in 1860 during the Opium War. It was one of the worst incidents in history of destroying a world-class cultural site, he noted.

'You also started off as bandits. So we have to face history,'' he said, to laughter from the audience.

The sole panellist from the West, CH2M Hill Companies chairman Ralph Peterson, agreed: 'Blaming and hypocrisy will not get us far. The better starting point is to see that we are all in this together.'

But he added that there is real concern that Asia's growth model is not sustainable.

China, for instance, produces 5.5 per cent of the world's gross domestic product, but consumes 15 per cent of its energy.

'The trajectory that Asia is on today is less sustainable than the situation that the US and the West created in a different era. It's worse, not better,'' he said.

There are also signs of a backlash in North America and Europe against Asia's environmental track record.

But this backlash is mixed up with fears about jobs losses and economic dislocation, he said.

But there is no basis for developed countries to take action against developing countries for their environmental track record, Mr Nor Mohamed said.

At the end of the day, there needs to be leadership - whether from multilateral organisations, governments or the private sector - to solve the problem, the panellists said.

Mr Peterson added: 'It's unfortunate that not every country is willing to take the leadership to catalyse action. I'm optimistic that we can solve this problem if we can go beyond blaming one another.'

Channel NewsAsia 25 Jun 07
SM Goh calls for pragmatic leadership to meet global challenges

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said pragmatic and courageous leadership is needed to meet global challenges ahead, and key among these challenges is tackling the impact of climate change.

According to a survey, this is a priority among participants at the East Asia meeting of the World Economic Forum held in Singapore.

But besides the environment, Mr Goh is concerned that the world is not doing enough to prepare for an avian flu pandemic.

Giving his address at the close of the two-day forum, Senior Minister Goh said leadership is the mother of all factors that would see Asia through the coming years. This would then allow the region to achieve the vision of an "Asian century".

He said: "If you categorise governments into the good, the bad and the ugly, track the economic growth of their countries and try to make a correlation, you will discover there is a positive correlation between the good-high growth, the bad-so-so growth and the ugly-negative growth in these countries."

Pragmatic policies by leaders in countries like China, India and Singapore have been critical in sustaining economic growth.

Mr Goh said: "From time to time we will sit down, look at the horizon and decide what steps we must take to adapt ourselves to the future. We had our own thinking on certain matters, for example, casinos. Seeing how competitive other economies are, we asked ourselves what we could do for the future.

"We do not favour gambling, but we decided on the integrated resorts because you can tie in the casino with convention facilities to support larger activities. That's an example of pragmatic leadership in Singapore."

Organisers of the World Economic Forum did a survey amongst their participants to find out which are the leaders' top priorities over the next few years, and it was of no surprise that issues like global warming, climatic change and environmental policies topped the agenda.

In a session with leaders from the private sector, the senior minister was asked if climate change would still be a concern if there were to be a SARS outbreak at the same time.

Mr Goh said: "I think the survey reflects the flavour of the month, which is climatic change. But at the back of my mind is the fear of an avian flu pandemic. I think we are not doing enough to tackle the problem and we are not ready for it – not just in Asia, but in the rest of the world."

Mr Goh also urged the private sector to let governments know about the pro-business conditions needed in a country to benefit both businesses and regional economies. - CNA/so
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