Bridging Asia: Asia's growth will come at the cost of its environment

Published on Jan 17, 2013

Can poor countries afford to be green? But as pollution caused by rapid industrialization leave developing countries with high death tolls, critics ask, can they afford not to? A recent research suggests that economic growth enables poor countries to invest in environmental improvements such as cleaning up water and improving sanitation. Thus, this house believes that the deterioration of environmental standards is an inevitable outcome of pursuing growth.