17 Apr 2010

UN / EAST ASIA ENERGY REPORT (EMBARGOED 19 APRIL 2010 UNTIL 1630 GMT)

A new report from the World Bank says that countries in East Asia can minimize greenhouse gas emissions without threatening growth. The report’s authors argue that the time for East Asian governments to act is now, because the decisions they make today will have an impact on emissions for decades to come. WORLD BANK

Posted at: April 17, 2010 12:01 pm

Duration: 02:04

Available in: SD

DOWNLOAD

Full script

STORY: UN / EAST ASIA ENERGY REPORT
TRT: 2:04
SOURCE: WORLD BANK
RESTRICTIONS: EMBARGOED UNTIL MONDAY, 19 APRIL 2010 1630 GMT
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: RECENT / FILE

SHOTLIST:

CHINA, JUNE 2009

1. Med shot, couple turning on light
2. Close up, light on
3. Close up, stove
4. Med shot, old tractor
5. Wide shot, smokestacks
6. Wide shot, cityscape
 
VIETNAM, Nov. 2007
 
7. Wide shot, traffic circle
 
WASHINGTON D.C. / RECENT
 
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Xiaodong Wang, World Bank Group:
"East Asia is definitely ahead of the rest of the world; first of all, East Asia's economic growth is the fastest in the world over the past three decades so this fast growth accompanied with rapid urbanization have brought two challenges, environmental sustainability and energy security, so many of these countries recognize these challenges—that's why they're getting on to this green growth path."

CHINA, JUNE 2009

9. Wide shot, methane gas tank
10. Med shot, building tank
11. Med shot, dump truck dumping
12. Med shot, men meeting

EGYPT, FEBRUARY 2009

13. Wide shot, solar panels
14. Wide shot, solar panels

WASHINGTON D.C. / RECENT

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Vijay Jagannathan, World Bank Group:
"There are tremendously large requirements in terms of additional financing, the report estimates something like 85 billion dollars a year has to be made available because in order to make the technology carbon-friendly or carbon-neutral you have to put a lot more money into it. So that's a big hurdle. The second hurdle is there is a lot of resistance still among the developing countries because they feel that the problem of carbon is somebody else's creation."

CHINA, JUNE 2009

16. Wide shot, street

VIETNAM, NOVEMBER 2007

17. Wide shot, traffic jam
18. Wide shot, city

CHINA, JUNE 2009

19. Med shot, city lights at night
20. Wide shot, city lights at night

STORYLINE:

Major investments in energy efficiency and a switch to renewable power in six East Asian countries could stabilize greenhouse gas emissions, increase access to energy and improve the quality of life, according to economists at the World Bank. The six countries are China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

SOUNDBITE (English) Xiaodong Wang, Senior Energy Specialist, World Bank Group:
"East Asia is definitely ahead of the rest of the world; first of all, East Asia's economic growth is the fastest in the world over the past three decades so this fast growth accompanied with rapid urbanization have brought two challenges, environmental sustainability and energy security, so many of these countries recognize these challenges—that's why they're getting on to this green growth path."

About half the region's energy infrastructure will be built in the next 10 years—and what gets built, and how, will have an impact on energy emissions until 2050 and beyond.  But even with the support of the region's leaders, getting the money, the technology and know-how for a greener future will not be easy.

SOUNDBITE (English) Vijay Jagannathan, Manager, East Asia Energy, World Bank Group:
"There are tremendously large requirements in terms of additional financing, the report estimates something like 85 billion dollars a year has to be made available because in order to make the technology carbon-friendly or carbon-neutral you have to put a lot more money into it. So that's a big hurdle. The second hurdle is there is a lot of resistance still among the developing countries because they feel that the problem of carbon is somebody else's creation."

Growing cities and rapid industrialization means that over the past thirty years, energy consumption in East Asia has tripled. That demand is expected to double again in the next 20 years.