Environmental Issues, Climate Changes, and Energy Security in ...

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,

CLIMATE CHANGES, AND

ENERGY SECURITY IN

DEVELOPING ASIA

Benjamin K. Sovacool

NO. 399

June 2014

ADB ECONOMICS

WORKING PAPER SERIES

ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

ADB Economics Working Paper Series

Environmental Issues, Climate Changes, and Energy

Security in Developing Asia

Benjamin K. Sovacool

No. ??399

2014

AsIAn deVeLoPMent BAnK

Benjamin K. Sovacool is Associate Professor at Vermont Law

School, and Professor of Business and Social Sciences at

Aarhus University

Asian Development Bank

6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City

1550 Metro Manila, Philippines



? 2014 by Asian Development Bank

June 2014

ISSN 1655-5252

Publication Stock No. WPS146535

The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and

policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they

represent.

ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility

for any consequence of their use.

By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area, or by using the

term ¡°country¡± in this document, ADB does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other

status of any territory or area.

Note: In this publication, ¡°$¡± refers to US dollars.

The ADB Economics Working Paper Series is a forum for stimulating discussion and eliciting

feedback on ongoing and recently completed research and policy studies undertaken by the Asian

Development Bank (ADB) staff, consultants, or resource persons. The series deals with key economic

and development problems, particularly those facing the Asia and Pacific region; as well as conceptual,

analytical, or methodological issues relating to project/program economic analysis, and statistical

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development indicators for monitoring development effectiveness.

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could subsequently be revised for publication as articles in professional journals or chapters in books.

The series is maintained by the Economics and Research Department.

Printed on recycled paper

CONTENTS

Abstract

I.

Introduction

1

II.

Climate Change

2

III.

Air Pollution

5

IV.

Water Quality and Availability

6

V.

Land-Use Change

8

VI. Environmental Impact of Energy Technology Options

A. Energy Efficiency

B. Nuclear Power

C. Shale Gas

D. Conventional Coal

E. Clean Coal

F. Oil and Natural Gas

G. Hydroelectricity

H. Wind Energy

I.

Solar Photovoltaics

J. Solar Thermal

K. Geothermal

L. Biomass

M. Biofuels

10

VII. Conclusions

REFERENCES

16

10

11

11

12

12

13

14

14

15

15

15

15

16

18

Abstract

Four environmental dimensions of energy security¡ªclimate change, air pollution,

water availability and quality, and land-use change¡ªand the environmental impact of

13 energy systems on each are discussed in this paper. Climate change threatens more

land, people, and economies in Asia and small Pacific island states than any other part

of the planet. Air pollution takes a substantial toll on national health-care expenditures

and economies in general. Of the 18 megacities worldwide with severe levels of total

suspended particulate matter emissions, 10 are in Asia. Regarding water availability and

quality, hydropower, nuclear power, and thermal power account for 10% to 15% of global

water consumption, and the volume of water evaporated from reservoirs exceeds the

combined freshwater needs of industry and domestic consumption. In the domain of

climate change, rising sea levels could contaminate freshwater aquifers possibly reducing

potable water supplies by 45%. Changes in land use for fuelwood collection and biofuel

production in Southeast Asia have resulted in deforestation at 5 times the global average

and 10 times the average for the rest of Asia. Policymakers must begin to incorporate

the cost of these negative consequences into energy prices.

Keywords: environment, water policy, climate change, energy security, Asia-Pacific

JEL: Q40, Q43, Q51

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