ASEAN urged to build a unified climate change and disasters stance

Will the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) lead the way in tackling climate change and disasters?

 

It is possible and imperative, according to former senator and former Philippine ambassador to ASEAN Orlando Mercado, who is now secretary general of the Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration (EROPA) Southeast Asia.

 

A day before the United Nations Climate Summit in New York takes place where more than 120 heads of states are expected to give bold commitments on climate change, a coalition of major environment groups has called on to take a unified geopolitical voice in addressing climate-induced disasters.

 

While ASEAN has shied away from discussions about borders and boundaries such as the territorial disputes in the South China Sea, the ASEAN for a Fair, Ambitious and Binding Global Climate Deal (AFAB), a partnership of Oxfam-East Asia GROW, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, and EROPA urged its 10 member states to find common voice in tackling climate change that is affecting the region’s livelihood, food security, energy resources and future development options.

 

“ Climate change is a matter of survival of more than 600 million people in 10 countries. We need to come up with a united position in leading the region in low-carbon and sustainable path as well as developing a framework and plan of action on adaptation and mitigation,” Mercado said.

 

The call came during the launch of the policy brief “Weathering Extremes: The need for a stronger ASEAN response” on Monday. The brief details the effects of climate-related disasters and what actions the ASEAN need to take to curb these impacts.

 

Mercado said a more unified approach is needed in articulating the impacts of climate change in the region, and in pushing for a “fair, ambitious and binding global climate deal with clear and progressive provisions on climate mitigation and adaptation, climate finance, and loss and damage.”

 

ASEAN member countries are Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

 

Zelda Soriano, political advisor of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said ASEAN leaders must ensure a low-carbon development path and climate-resilient economy through promotion of renewable energy.

 

“ We are urging our ASEAN governments to strengthen their unity through common positions and concrete programs and projects that will meet long-term objective that is reducing carbon emission and resilience of countries to climate change,” Soriano said. “ We cannot continue with a business-as-usual scenario if we want to ensure our safety and that of future generations.”

 

Soriano added that ASEAN must phase out all subsidies for fossil fuel consumption and production “as these subsidies often benefit only the rich segments of society rather than the poor.” ASEAN must also ensure that renewable energy incentives “do not shift a disproportionate share of the additional financial cost to the poorest households, adding that impacts can be minimized by adopting policy support to national development objectives.

 

“ To help advance electrification and socio-economic objectives, off-grid applications of renewable energy must be prioritized. There is a need to guarantee priority access to the grid for renewable power generators,” Soriano said.

 

Weathering extremes

 

Southeast Asia’s worst weather calamities such as typhoons, floods and drought in the last decade cost the region tens of thousands of lives and more than USD 4 billion annually, according to the policy brief “Weathering Extremes: The need for a stronger ASEAN response.”

 

According to the study, the region’s growing population, projected to reach 760 million by 2050 and concentrated in vulnerable coastal areas, presents an additional strain on the environment and resources. There will be an increase in the demand for food, water, and other resources. Climate change will have an impact on these resources, and may lead to conflicts if they reach the point of scarcity.

“ Climate change is a burning issue in the region. Extreme weather events are increasing in the region, and we all suffer from its impacts. I think this should be a call for us to work together, especially in terms of adaptation and mitigation,” said Tun Lwin, Chief Eexecutive Officer of Myanmar Climate Change Watch and author of the study.

 

Citing the study, Lwin said that the agriculture sector’s level of danger from climate change impacts is increasing. Food security in the region, he said, will become a major issue as extreme weather events can negatively impact food production and food storage and delivery systems.

 

Fishing is another area that will be affected by the changing climate, Lwin said. Southeast Asia ranked 2^nd in 2010 among the world’s top fish producers. But catch is expected to decrease in the next few decades.

 

The study further said that  in Souther part of the Philippines, a 50% drop in marine fish capture is expected to occur in the 2050s due to wrmer sea temperatures and ocean acidification. In Vietnam, a 16% decrease in maximum catch potential is also projected. The Philippines and Vietnam produced 2.6 and 2.4 million tonnes, respectively, of fish catch in 2010.

 

Riza Bernabe, policy and research coordinator of Oxfam’s East Asia Grow campaign, said that with the looming climate crisis affecting the region, rice production falls and in turn small holder farmers suffer the most.

 

“ Food insecurity will worsen in the region due to rice shortage unless we have long-term strategic action on extreme weather events. Access to irrigation for instance, is a vital adaptation measure,” Bernabe said.

Here are the recommendations of the AFAB to the ASEAN leaders:

 

1. Consider policy support for renewable energy and policy reforms to de-subsidize coal and oil for a low-carbon and sustainable community;
2. Allocate funds for climate adaptation projects and activities at the regional level on capacity building, knowledge sharing on adaptation;
3. Push for a fair, ambitious and binding global climate deal highlighting mitigation and adaptation, climate finance and loss and damage at the international climate change talks;
4. Build a more active and unified approach in dealing with climate impacts as well as harmonize implementation of climate policies;
5. Move as a regional bloc towards developing a framework and plan of action on adaptation in agriculture, emphasizing sustainability, food security, climate resilience, and gender perspectives.

 

Story by IMELDA V. ABANO

Photo credit: IVAbano, environews and LJ Pasion of AFAB