ADB study shows South Asia emissions could cut by 20% by 2020

A new study from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) shows that Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka could reduce greenhouse gas emission by a fifth by 2020 by introducing a variety of clean technologies at little long-term cost.

The study projects a 20 percent reduction of emission by 2020 if the five countries replace fossil fuels with renewable or cleaner energy; upgrade to more fuel-efficient technology; use green products such as solar cookstoves and electric vehicles.

"The livelihoods of more than 200 million people in these five countries are threatened by the rapid loss of snow cover in the Himalayas and rising sea levels,” said Mahfuz Ahmed, principal climate change specialist with ADB’s South Asia Department. “It is possible to slash greenhouse gas emissions through big and small changes that would have little or no long-term cost to the end users.”

A carbon tax could slash emissions in the five countries by a fifth in 2030 due to rising global carbon price, according to the study.

The five countries are expected to produce an annual 245 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent in 2030 from 58 million tons in 2005, according to The Economics of Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emission in South Asia.