SKorean PM says climate change a threat to Asia

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-soo said Friday that Asia is at grave risk from climate change and warned that responding to the environmental threat cannot be separated from fighting the global economic crisis.

"Asian countries are particularly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change," Han said in a speech at the annual World Economic Forum on East Asia. "Many major Asian cities are situated along coast lines and are susceptible to extreme climate events."

Climate change has been a key theme at the two-day forum, a gathering of business and government leaders taking place this year in Seoul. Others have been Asia's role in a realignment of the global economy and the need to fight protectionism.

Han explained South Korea's policy of creating a low carbon economy and creating jobs through a so-called green growth plan that calls for spending 50 trillion won ($39.3 billion) over the next four years.

The government expects the policy will create 960,000 jobs, said Han, a veteran South Korean government official who served as finance minister and foreign minister in previous governments. He was a U.N. special envoy on climate change before becoming prime minister.

South Korean president Lee Myung-bak announced in August last year that Seoul planned to pursue an environmentally friendly growth policy.

Han said the government was set to announce details of a five-year green growth plan, probably sometime next month.

"I believe that low carbon green growth must be a paradigm not only for Korea but for the international community as a whole," he said.

Han also emphasized that the dual threats posed by the economic crisis and climate change cannot be viewed in isolation.

"The urgency of the challenges posted by the economic crisis and climate change necessitates a comprehensive policy response," he said. "We must not view these two global issues as mutually exclusive."

Han said that two-thirds of the world's poorest people live in Asia and that they are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

"Thus it is imperative that we act boldly, decisively and without delay," he said.

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