SHAPING THE FUTURE HOW CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS CAN POWER HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

vehicles on the road. Beijing issued its red alert,
the highest of a four-level alert system, twice
in the last five years, leading to a complete
halt in traffic movement, industrial work and
commuter movement. So far, actions like these
have not significantly curtailed pollution, but
they have brought some additional benefits such
as reducing road congestion and fuel usage, and
raising public awareness.
Rapid urbanization also spurs greenhouse
gas emissions (Figure 5.14)—the world’s cities
as a whole emit around two-thirds of the total
even as they occupy only 2 percent of total land
area. 39 One encouraging dimension is that as
cities develop, they can more efficiently control
emissions. In some large cities, including
Seoul, Tokyo and Sydney, per capita emissions
FIGURE 5.16:
Per capita emissions in Asia-Pacific
developing country cities are higher than
national averages
166
Cities tend to have
a larger climate
footprint
FIGURE 5.15:
As people move to cities, greenhouse gas
emissions rise
Source: UN DESA 2015a.
Source: World Bank 2015a.
are lower than national averages—a trend so
far largely taking place in the most developed
and advanced cities (Figure 5.16). Elsewhere
in Asia-Pacific, Dhaka, Bangkok, Beijing and
Shanghai all release emissions at higher rates
than the national average.
People in cities typically generate more
solid waste than those in rural areas, and the
largest cities tend to surpass national averages
(Figure 5.17), as is the case for Kuala Lumpur,
Bangkok, Ulaanbaatar and Jakarta. With urban
expansion, this problem will become even more
acute, and cities will need to develop ways to
both manage and decrease waste. In the Republic
of Korea, the Government’s Extended Producer
Responsibility system, for instance, requires
manufacturers to recycle a certain percentage of
their waste. Since its implementation in 2003, it
has saved an estimated $1.6 billion, in addition
to providing environmental benefits.
While the risk of natural disaster has always
been high in Asia-Pacific’s cities, climate
change poses ever worsening threats (Box 5.3).
Rising sea level threatens cities in low-elevation
coastal zones, including Tokyo, Dhaka,
Shanghai and Mumbai. Greater water scarcity
is likely in the future, as flooding contaminates
freshwater supplies. Urban infrastructure is often
ill equipped to deal with natural disasters. For