{"id":76224,"date":"2022-11-01T06:00:10","date_gmt":"2022-10-31T19:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=76224"},"modified":"2022-10-31T17:09:33","modified_gmt":"2022-10-31T06:09:33","slug":"resetting-southeast-asias-climate-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/resetting-southeast-asias-climate-agenda\/","title":{"rendered":"Resetting Southeast Asia\u2019s climate agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"
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High inflation, rising interest rates, falling currencies and volatile energy prices, together with an economic slowdown and post-pandemic budget woes, may increase pressure on the ASEAN+3\u2014the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, together with China, Japan and South Korea\u2014to scale back efforts to mitigate climate risk. While this policy shift may make fiscal sense, it is a mistake that could have grave repercussions for the region and ultimately lead to slower economic growth and greater financial instability.<\/p>\n

If not addressed, the risks climate change poses to ASEAN+3 countries could have far-reaching implications for the region\u2019s agricultural production, water availability, energy security, transport and infrastructure, tourism industries and coastal resources. Over the past two years, flooding, cyclones, droughts, rising sea levels and landslides have become an increasingly frequent feature of life. Myanmar, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand are among the world\u2019s 10 most climate-vulnerable<\/a> countries, having suffered some of the most fatalities and highest economic losses from weather-related disasters between 1999 and 2018.<\/p>\n

In addition to these physical risks, the transition to a low-carbon economy carries risks of its own. For starters, industries that are heavily reliant on fossil fuels are increasingly facing greater regulatory burdens. A large portion of the region\u2019s oil, gas and coal reserves may end up being left in the ground and discounted or entirely written off. Shifts in energy policy are also likely to increase banks\u2019 credit risks. If Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam meet their commitments under the 2015 Paris agreement, for example, coal-fired power plants valued at US$60 billion<\/a> will become stranded assets in 15 years, rather than 40.<\/p>\n

The green transition would most likely also affect the profitability of coal mines elsewhere in the region, such as in Indonesia. And the European Union\u2019s efforts to shift away from palm-oil biofuel and encourage the use of deforestation-free products may turn landbanks<\/a> in Malaysia and Indonesia into stranded assets. But despite these transition risks, doing nothing would ultimately be costlier for ASEAN economies.<\/p>\n

To be sure, ASEAN countries have taken some steps to mitigate<\/a> climate risks. Brunei has implemented coastal-protection structures. Indonesia has promoted mangroves and climate-tolerant crop varieties. Laos has developed sustainable crop-management techniques. And Malaysia has pursued climate-adapted technology and organic farming.<\/p>\n

But despite these improvements, more must be done to meet the ASEAN+3 countries\u2019 renewable-energy goals. Several initiatives could support the region\u2019s efforts: the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation, for example, aims to increase<\/a> renewable energy to 23% of the region\u2019s energy supply by 2025, compared with 14% in 2017. And the 2021 forum on the carbon-neutrality goals of China, Japan and South Korea has outlined concrete ideas for achieving net-zero emissions<\/a> through trilateral cooperation on innovation and technology.<\/p>\n

Carbon pricing is essential to the green transition. ASEAN+3 countries have held discussions on balancing pricing schemes against the need to stimulate economic growth. In July 2021, China launched operation of its national emissions-trading system, designed to be an \u2018important market-based instrument<\/a>\u2019 to help the country achieve its climate goals. One year on, though still dealing with data-quality issues, China\u2019s ETS is the world\u2019s largest<\/a> in terms of covered emissions, and prices are rising steadily. While there have been calls<\/a> for a regionwide carbon tax, this idea seems unlikely in the short term, given differences in tax regimes. Nonetheless, a carbon tax will likely remain a key focus of discussions among the ASEAN+3 in the next few years.<\/p>\n

Promoting sustainable finance will also be essential to a successful transition, as the financial sector could drive an economy-wide shift. In the past few years, many central banks and financial supervisors<\/a> in Asia have implemented, or have begun to implement, such measures, despite ongoing capacity and resource constraints.<\/p>\n

In the short term, there\u2019s significant scope for ASEAN+3 central banks and financial regulators to provide incentives for the transition to a low-carbon economy by directing firms and lenders to reduce carbon usage and focus on renewable energy and green technologies. Such measures would encourage a similar shift across the economy, leading companies to price climate risks into their products and services.<\/p>\n

By promoting low-carbon policies and encouraging green finance, policymakers could spur new renewable-energy sectors and stimulate economic growth. Reducing their reliance on dollar-denominated fossil fuels would also enable ASEAN+3 countries to shift government revenues from maintaining large foreign-exchange reserves towards domestic policies.<\/p>\n

To minimise the damaging effects of climate change on their populations and economies, ASEAN+3 policymakers must implement risk-mitigation policies that help prevent regional spillovers and encourage the emergence of new industries and technologies. Doing so would also boost energy security. Shutting down the sun and the wind is much harder than blowing up a gas pipeline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

High inflation, rising interest rates, falling currencies and volatile energy prices, together with an economic slowdown and post-pandemic budget woes, may increase pressure on the ASEAN+3\u2014the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1631,"featured_media":76227,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[189,283,2464,25],"class_list":["post-76224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-asean","tag-climate-change","tag-renewable-energy","tag-southeast-asia"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nResetting Southeast Asia\u2019s climate agenda | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/resetting-southeast-asias-climate-agenda\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Resetting Southeast Asia\u2019s climate agenda | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"High inflation, rising interest rates, falling currencies and volatile energy prices, together with an economic slowdown and post-pandemic budget woes, may increase pressure on the ASEAN+3\u2014the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/resetting-southeast-asias-climate-agenda\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-10-31T19:00:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-10-31T06:09:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/GettyImages-455270059.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"681\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Aziz Durrani\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Aziz Durrani\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/resetting-southeast-asias-climate-agenda\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/GettyImages-455270059.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/GettyImages-455270059.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":681,\"caption\":\"This picture taken on December 8, 2013 shows workers installing cables on an electrical pole in the district of Sapa, northern mountainous province of Lao Cai. 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