Asia Could Lead World in “Clean Revolution,” U.S. Official Tells International Forum
By Glen Perkinson

Published in The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., August 5, 1998

BANGKOK - Asia is standing on the precipice of a "clean revolution" which could see it leading the world in environmentally friendly industry, a U.S. official said July 28.

According to Kathleen McGinty, chair of the United States Council on Environmental Quality, economic recovery and environmentally sustainable industrial development are "compatible goals."

"And they are not just compatible goals," she said, "they are the same goals. If we forsake one, we forsake the other. But, if we pursue one, we can pursue the other."

McGinty made these comments at a policy forum here that was convened to debate the compatibility in Asia of recovery of its crisis-torn economies with environmentally sustainable industrial development.

McGinty, an adviser to President Bill Clinton, said the United States would back Asia in its bid to restore the "vitality" of its economies. However, she warned the 250 participants in the forum that they must be aware of how economic factors shape environmental policy and protection.

McGinty was among several keynote speakers who gathered at Bangkok’s oldest university, Chulalongkorn, to debate environment-policy issues affecting Asian nations as they seek to re-float their sinking economies.

The forum also saw the launching of the Greening of Industry Network-Asia (GIN-Asia). The organization intends to be "an important policy and information resource for regional governments" in their quest to implement environmentally sound economic and industrial policies," Peter Kimm, executive director of the United States-Asia Environmental Partnership (US-AEP), said July 28.

GIN is a grouping of three international universities’ environment faculties and the US-AEP. The universities are Chulalongkorn in Asia, Twente of the Netherlands in Europe, and Clark in the United States.

McGinty said economic growth cannot be balanced against environmental protection. "They are inextricably linked. They are mutual—two sides of the same coin, if you like. We cannot count on one if we do not provide for the other. And the converse is true—sacrifice one and we endanger the other.

"No less is true even in an economic crisis," she told the conference. "Environmental protection is not a luxury. That would be a dangerous temptation to fall into."

Avoid Mistakes U.S. Made

She recalled how U.S. industry had seen product quality as a luxury it could not afford in the 1970s and how this had lead to the automobile and steel industries’ demise. Asia has to avoid that attitude and apply the same philosophy it had over quality in competitiveness to the environment.

"Environmental protection in the 21st century will be of strategic and competitive importance for industry," she said. "It is time for the countries of this region to dedicate themselves to building environmental capital."

The current economic crisis in the region is an opportunity for Asia to build "sustainable industry and sustainable growth," she added.

McGinty encouraged Asia to introduce "transparent" environmental policies in order to motivate business to meet standards. She said the United States has benefitted from its "right-to-know legislation which put the polluters in the spotlight and demanded the adherence to emission and materials and energy usage standards." However, in meeting right-to-know requirements, she said, many companies have noticed an improvement in their economic performance.

‘Kick-Off for Clean Revolution’

Kimm told the conference’s plenary session that GIN-Asia is "the kick-off for the clean revolution in Asia." He said GIN and the US-AEP intend to "have an effect and have input" into the problem of environmentally sustainable industrial development in the region.

David Angel, graduate studies dean at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, told the conference that by 2020, Asia will generate between 55 percent and 60 percent of the world’s industrial output.

Already the region produces airborne pollution and twice the world’s average and five times that of countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and greenhouse gas emissions at 20 times the OECD level, Angel said. Asia is not on track for "clean revolution," he said, adding that Asian nations have made strides in cutting energy consumption but not in curbing pollution.

Angel said Asia can expect a 13-fold increase in industrial production in the next 30 years. It needs to grab this "once in a lifetime opportunity to leverage the proceeds of new investment to the clean revolution," he added.

With 85 percent of the projected investment in industry yet to be spent, he said, it is "urgent to act now to influence this investment to ensure that every piece of new investment has the potential to be cleaner and greener."

The greatest advantage big business would reap in adopting environmentally efficient industry is that it would be able to meet the current, yet growing, demand for clean products. "Those that embrace the new technology will create competitive advantages for themselves," he told the conference’s plenary session.

McGinty added that Asian citizens could ensure a cleaner environment, with economic prosperity, by demanding adequate public disclosure of manufacturing’s environmental performance. "As Asia emerges from this economic crisis it will be stronger," she said. "It can lead the world’s economies again but also as a region with a stronger environment." .

 

 

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