Climate change is not just an environment issue but also has socioeconomic implications, and it is directly affecting development all over the world, Former Vice President of the World Bank Vinod Thomas said recently during an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

"There is now evidence linking increase in CO2, increase in sea temperature, increase in precipitations in some place and lack of that in some other places, and therefore, more extreme events (happen)," Thomas told Xinhua on the sidelines of the ongoing IMF and World Bank spring meetings in Washington.

"This has been now translating into loss of income, into loss of life and loss of livelihood from Pakistan to Australia, to China, all over the world," said Thomas, currently director-general of Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) at the World Bank Group.

According to a recent IEG report, the frequency of disastrous heat waves (such as in Europe in 2003 and in Russia in 2010) and floods (such as Pakistan 2010) may have doubled, due to climate change. Sea level may rise two to five feet this century, imperiling coastal cities, populous deltas and low-lying islands. Unabated, climate change could derail development, with a one-in-fourth chance of an 11 Fahrenheit rise this century.

Despite the fact that the developed countries are responsible for climate change, Thomas said, the worst effects of climate change are on the poor.

Climate change "affects areas unfortunately where the density of population is even more than the environment can hold and heavily appropriated by the poor," he said, adding that developed countries need to do far more than they are doing currently in addressing the challenge.

"Developed or industrial countries have to bear a huge responsibility and do far more than they are doing to produce more green energy, to reduce energy subsidies, to improve energy efficiency, to invest in renewable and really put a burden on those who are polluting at a high level," he said. "And United States will be a case and much more will need to be done in this respect."

However, Thomas said the middle-income countries now contribute more to the increase in CO2 emissions and they need to take actions too.

"If the middle-income countries like India, China, Brazil, Russia, do not take strong actions, all that the industrial countries will do, will not be enough," said Thomas.

He thought there were a set of actions that can be taken, which is good for climate, good for the economy and good for the poor. However, they are not being taken.

One example is energy efficiency. According to him, increasing energy efficiency in some countries could save 25 percent in terms of the energy use.

"China has some very interesting examples of providing financing for energy efficiency projects with the particular intensive or special attention, which then increases the efforts made in energy efficiency," he said.

Other examples include reforestation. Thomas thought reforestation and stopping deforestation could be "one of the biggest things" developing countries can do, again good for the economy, good for the poor, good for climate.

"And China is one of the strong examples again of reforestation but after having suffered a lot of deforestation in the past," Thomas said.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet