Growth of emerging markets’ economies is often mentioned as one of the fundamental trends in our world today. However, appreciating the speed and dynamics of this claimed growth is often hard. Two recent reports shine a light on what is actually happening in Asia.

A new report on Asia’s middle class from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) says Asia's rapidly expanding middle class is likely to assume the traditional role of the US and Europe as primary global consumers and help rebalance the global economy.

The report, published in a special chapter of Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2010, the flagship annual statistical publication of the ADB, found that Asia’s consumers spent an estimated $4.3 trillion (in 2005 purchasing power parity dollars), or about one-third of OECD consumption expenditure, in 2008 and by 2030 will likely spend $32 trillion, comprising about 43% of the worldwide consumption. This development is referred to as “any marketeer’s dream” in the Dutch Financieele Dagblad.

The impact of the shift that is taken place is very clear in today’s oil markets. The Financial Times reported on a report of the International Energy Agency. Oil consumption in countries such as China, India, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Indonesia is changing global consumptions patterns fundamentally. “This emerging seasonality will probably raise new refining and logistics challenges.” Although not all experts agree with the idea of a fundamental change in season patterns, a fundamental change in global oil consumption is evident.

I truly hope that Western stakeholders applaud these developments. There is a risk that some will argue once more that the world can’t carry this kind of growth. In a blog on Kishore Mahbubani’s book “The new Asian hemisphere, the irresistible shift of global power to the East”,  I already disapproved this kind of thinking.  Asian growth lifts many out of poverty, which is only to be applauded. Ecological stewardship is on the Asian agenda too. If the West wants this agenda to accelerate globally there is a lot more that can be done over here. Or do you believe we already give the right example? With Mahbubani I agree that we should celebrate developments and not lose our optimism, as now so often seems to be the case. Asia’s development is not just a marketeer’s dream, but one of any global citizen.