Widespread corruption prevents Asian countries from effectively implementing measures to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that contribute to global warming.
According to a study by the London and Washington-based Center for Global Development, developing countries are now responsible for 63% of annual carbon emissions.
"Industry, power and wealth that have long been monopolized by a handful of developed countries, are now thriving in developing countries," the researchers wrote in the study, as quoted from Phys.org.
Increasing carbon emissions are a consequence of economic growth in developing countries in Asia which also appear to be at greater risk than other regions of climate change impacts, for social, geographic and economic reasons, the researchers said.
In the study, the researchers pointed out that when it comes to reducing carbon emissions, corruption is a trigger of concern. If corruption increases by 1%, carbon emissions will also increase by 0.19%.
The research, which has been published in the December 2022 issue of the journal Utilities Policy, assessed data between 1960 and 2020 from 47 countries in Asia including Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar and Nepal.
CO2 is a major heat trap, the greenhouse gas that warms the Earth and causes climate change. The US Environmental Protection Agency says CO2 emissions are mainly due to the use of fossil fuels for heating, electricity production and transportation.
An estimated 1.5 billion tons of CO2 are also released by deforestation every year. Not only that, land clearing related to agriculture and soil degradation are also triggering contributors.
In 2021, the Asia-Pacific region is responsible for nearly 17.8 billion tons of CO2 emissions, which is more than the total emissions of all other regions that year.
This study states that the average level of corruption in the area studied is higher than other regions. The researcher added that corruption hindered the implementation of measures to address CO2 emissions.
"Corruption encourages mismanagement of the development process as a whole without properly addressing environmental issues," said Khosrul Alam, study co-author and assistant professor at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University, Bangladesh.
"Corrupt people and institutions carry out their activities haphazardly and unregulated for their own benefit and place less emphasis on environmental conditions that increase carbon dioxide emissions," he said.
He said, globalization has led to various development activities that increase CO2 emissions. "Technological innovation also exacerbates carbon dioxide emissions, if you don't adopt green methods," said Alam.
He added that an effective and comprehensive corruption control policy is needed together with environmentally friendly technological innovations to address carbon dioxide emissions.
Chiranjib Chakraborty, professor at the School of Life Science and Biotechnology at Adamas University, Kolkata, mentioned that CO2 emissions and related environmental problems can be tackled by adopting the resolutions made at the COP26 2021 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
Scientists and policy makers at COP26 agreed to reaffirm the Paris Agreement target of limiting global average temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius and work to set up a pollution recovery fund to be given by rich countries to poor countries and encourage the use of renewable energy while working to cut fossil fuel based energy.
The parties that gathered for COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh Egypt in November 2022, failed to reach an agreement to strengthen the target.
"Researchers must prioritize solutions to carbon dioxide emissions that take into account poverty alleviation and increased incomes in developing countries," said Chakraborty.