Failing to respond effectively to global warming would be tantamount to taking away public security and prosperity, a British envoy for climate change issues said Thursday in Tokyo.
Urging countries to shift to "low-carbon societies," U.K special representative John Ashton stressed that global warming and its macroeconomic effects have led to shortfalls in resources, including fossil fuels and food.
Making a society less dependent on fossil fuel may be costly, but "there are opportunities" providing incentives for countries to proceed with the change, he said during a speech at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.