By APICHAI SUNCHINDAH, PETRA PAILIN MUELLER
Published on October 8, 2009, the Nation, Bangkok, Thailand

RICH OR POOR, archipelago or landlocked, the effects of climate variability are becoming increasingly perceptible – melting ice and glaciers leading to rising water levels, extreme heat waves inducing forest fires, and intense rainfall causing severe storms and floods.

Southeast Asia is not spared from these effects. The Irrawaddy Delta in Burma was devastated by Cyclone Nargis in May 2008, resulting in a huge humanitarian relief effort mounted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United Nations. Recently, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand bore the brunt of Typhoon Ketsana and suffered serious flooding, landslides, and loss of life and property, due to heavy precipitation and strong winds.

Conversely, unusually dry conditions in early 2009 exacerbated land and forest fires to the extent of blanketing the normally pleasant city of Chiang Mai with acrid smoke haze for weeks. Fires in Sumatra and Borneo also covered nearby localities with choking haze. This prompted the ASEAN environment ministers to meet in mid-August and again in early September to review and implement cooperative actions.

At the global level, the world is gearing up for the UN climate-change negotiations scheduled for December in Copenhagen. With less than two months to go, officials are scurrying to find ways to seal a deal for future joint actions, especially as the current commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. Two years ago at the same UN climate-change talks held in Bali, ASEAN issued a declaration – the plan is to do likewise in the Danish capital. However, this time, more is at stake for ASEAN and the world.

Latest evidence predicts alarming future consequences if appropriate action is not taken to combat global warming. Densely populated coastal areas of Southeast Asia are particularly susceptible to the adverse effects of climate-related events. The Irrawaddy, Mekong and Red River delta regions, as well as mega-cities like Jakarta, Manila and Bangkok, are classified as “climate hot spots” in terms of vulnerability. The climate-linked hazards experienced by several ASEAN countries lately underscore the region’s risk and the need for better preparedness in the face of such challenges that are only likely to increase in intensity and frequency.

There is, however, hope on the horizon if countries seize the opportunity. The global economic crisis offered ideal prospects for shifting towards a climate-resilient society and low-carbon economy through “green” stimulus packages. The threats caused by the financial downturn and climate change can thus be simultaneously addressed by shoring up economies through job creation and poverty reduction projects while ensuring lower carbon emissions and protecting vulnerable communities.

Some European and East Asian countries have shown that economic growth and environmental sustainability are not antithetical but can coexist. After all, the terms “ecology” and “economics” share the common Greek origin, “oikos”, meaning “home” or “household”. While ecology is the study of the home environment, economics is the management thereof. Accordingly, good economics should make good ecological sense, and vice versa.

Climate change is an inter-sectoral and transnational issue requiring close regional and global cooperation to ensure effective and timely responses. The ASEAN environment ministers, at their meeting last month, recognised that stronger inter-governmental policy coordination is urgently needed to address the problem. In this regard, the ministers welcomed the ASEAN Secretary-General’s initiative to enhance coordination mechanisms and synergise efforts across relevant sectoral bodies.

Global warming can disrupt social well-being, economic prosperity and political stability. To address this multi-faceted challenge requires the pooling of resources across a broad spectrum and mainstreaming climate change into all concerned sectors in a well coordinated manner.

Leading up to the Copenhagen negotiations, Thailand hosted the “Bangkok Talks”, ending this week. In preparation for this, the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) assisted the climate negotiating team from some Asean countries in strengthening their capacities in negotiation skills. An ASEAN multi-sectoral framework focusing on climate change and food security is being developed with GTZ, hopefully for implementation next year. The US is fielding an ASEAN climate-change advisor to be based at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta soon. Resources are available from ASEAN’s partners to help fight global warming.

The theme of ASEAN’s anniversary this year is “Green ASEAN”. While this is a step in the right direction, much still needs to be done. The ASEAN Agreement on Trans-boundary Haze Pollution has been in force almost six years, yet remains unratified by Indonesia and the Philippines, thus rendering the framework less effective. Indonesia outside of this Agreement is like the US not joining the Kyoto Protocol. Full participation from key countries is vital and must be enabled.

Asean also needs to examine its own carbon footprints; the convening of some 500 meetings each year translates into significant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. At the recent High-Level Summit on Climate Change in New York, the UN estimated the amount of emissions the event generated, and then bought carbon offsets for supporting green projects elsewhere. ASEAN should do likewise – by using more tele-conferencing instead – if it wishes to earn its green reputation.

Another initiative to consider is fulfilling the “common but differentiated responsibilities”, at the regional level. Better-capacitated ASEAN member countries with high emissions per capita need to reduce their numbers accordingly while assisting others in terms of finance and technology, thus meeting the global objectives towards a low-carbon growth path in an exemplary ASEAN-helping-ASEAN way. The Maldives, the low-lying island nation in the Indian Ocean, extremely prone to climate change effects, has declared its intention to be carbon neutral by 2020. Can ASEAN set similar targets?

Enlightened, proactive leadership and a firm political will are crucial to combating climate change. Thailand, as the current and outgoing ASEAN chair, has repeatedly expressed the desire to see Asean as a “community of action” that can promptly and decisively respond to challenges and threats affecting the peoples of the region. It is hoped that Vietnam, one of the countries most vulnerable to global warming, will put climate change high on the agenda next year during its term as the ASEAN Chair.

The authors have been affiliated with the German Technical Cooperation office in Thailand. The views expressed here are their own.