UN urges Asia to tax polluters, lend to clean firms
Date: 21-May-03
Country: THAILAND
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a report released in Bangkok that Asia now had more consumers earning more than $7,000 a year than Western Europe and North American combined.
"It is clear that the Earth's natural ecosystems will not cope with the style of industrialisation and over-consumption seen in Europe or North America," Shafqat Kakakhel, UNEP Deputy Executive Director, said in a statement accompanying the report.
"The region's economic development agenda needs to be coupled with clean production processes and sustainable consumption patterns."
UNEP's report will be up for discussion at a meeting of Asian government officials and business representatives in Yogyakarta, Indonesia on Wednesday to promote sustainable consumption and production.