As the poorer regions strive to catch up to the more developed ones, the environment is often caught in the middle, and in some cases given cursory attention. Awareness is mounting of the need for cooperation at local, regional, and international levels in addressing many of Asia's environmental problems, because Asian development will have profound impacts on the environment, in Asia and well beyond. . Because fossil fuels will provide much of this energy, emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants such as sulfur and nitrogen oxides and particulates are projected to dramatically increase. The impacts of Asia's growth in emissions will have wide-ranging consequences.
Acid precipitation is an illustrative example.
The long range transport and fate of pollutants away from Asia is an area of increasing scientific interest and political concern because countries are receiving increasing amounts of pollutants from neighboring and even distant countries. The recent episodes of severe smoke and haze throughout Southeast Asia underscore this point. Another key dynamic in Asia is the urban environment. As subsistence workers migrate from rural areas to the cities seeking relief, urban populations are growing faster than the national averages. Without strong intervention the situation will inevitably worsen.