By 2050, 3 billion people - a full two-thirds of all Asians - will live in cities, attracted by the prospect of higher earning jobs and a better future for their families. Cities already provide more than 80% of the region's gross domestic product and this is set to grow. Fast-paced urbanisation has been instrumental to Asia's swift economic growth and sharp drop in poverty in recent decades, but it has also brought huge challenges. Asia has two-thirds of the world's slum dwellers, and only one-10th of all solid waste ends up in proper landfills, compounding environmental and health problems. Meanwhile, the construction of water, sanitation, housing and other infrastructure has not kept up with demand. Urban areas account for 60% to 80% of Asian countries' energy consumption and 75% of their carbon emissions. Without interventions, both of these figures will go up. This is bad for the environment and for health; 4.5 million people in Asia die every year due to urban air pollution. Many Asian cities are extremely vulnerable to the hazards caused by climate change. Kolkata, Shanghai, Bangkok, Yangon and Manila are all at high risk of coastal flooding as sea levels rise, threatening lives, jobs and essential services. With the cost of natural disasters set to rise in coming years, cities will clearly be the major battleground in the region's fight against climate change. To tackle these issues, I believe we need to address five key areas.
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