The impact of climate change in Southeast Asia: the Green Team Europe Initiative Strategy

by Antonella Benedetto

Climate change has continued to remain a long lasting struggle. The adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015 by representatives from 195 nations sent a strong message in the struggle against climate change. In Southeast Asia, climate change represents a huge risk for economic development. In many densely populated coastal locations, climate change is predicted to cause considerable variations in precipitation patterns, an increase in the frequency of severe weather events, higher temperatures, and sea level rise. Agriculture yields, biodiversity, forest harvests, and the accessibility of clean water would all suffer as a result of these changes. Additionally, it will increase the prevalence of illnesses like dengue fever and malaria. A rise in demand for water and energy might make it more difficult for urban infrastructure systems to provide basic services. By 2100, these effects might collectively limit economic growth, resulting in annual economic losses of $230 billion, or 6.7% of GDP—more than double the world average loss of 2.6%—and endangering the livelihoods of millions of people (Asian Development Bank 2010).

The call for governments in Southeast Asia to evaluate their emissions-intensive economic models and demand more aggressive climate change mitigation measures appears controversial. Indeed, Southeast Asian countries face various social, political, economic, and environmental challenges in governing climate change due to the historical emissions of consumption-intensive, high-income countries and the competing priorities related to economic development and industrialisation (Sasipornkarn 2021).

Southeast Asia is one of the world's most diverse and dynamic areas in the world: the region includes a wide variety of cultures, ethnicities, and religions. It geographically encompasses the maritime Southeast Asian nations of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Timor-Leste as well as the countries of mainland Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Numerous distinct political structures, including constitutional monarchy, socialist one-party states, and parliamentary democracies, represent the region's diversity. Southeast Asian nations have moved closer over the past few decades due to greater collaboration, interdependence, and exchange (Asian Development Bank). The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), established in 1967, comprises all Southeast Asian nations except Timor-Leste. In addition to facilitating a collaborative discussion on issues like climate change, transboundary air pollution, and economic development, ASEAN strives to promote a sense of regional identity (Council on Foreign Relations 2022).

ASEAN measures and the Paris Agreement

The chapter 1 “Purposes and Principles” of the ASEAN Charter (2007) at the article 1(9) aim:

“To promote sustainable development so as to ensure the protection of the region’s environment, the sustainability of its natural resources, the preservation of its cultural heritage and the high quality of life of its peoples”.

ASEAN has demonstrated its active participation in international discussions to ensure a just, efficient, and equitable conclusion for a new climate change regime in a number of declarations and statements. The ASEAN Heads of State and Government have taken various initiatives. In its declaration for the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC and the 3rd session of the Conference of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, ASEAN reaffirmed its continued commitment to addressing the issue and relevance of climate change as well as pursuing its goals for sustainable development. Additionally, ASEAN has reaffirmed its dedication to strong bilateral, regional, and international partnerships to advance the creation and dissemination of low carbon technologies, including more environmentally sound ones. This is meant to incentivise investment on development and technology that is climate-friendly for ASEAN and the rest of the world. In this framework, it is acknowledged that developing nations' top goals are economic and social growth, including poverty eradication and environmental conservation.

Their 2007 declaration to the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali established a two-year timeline for the ongoing negotiations. On October 24, 2009, they released a joint statement to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, where a new climate agreement will be reached. The Leaders' 2009-2015 Road Map for an ASEAN Community places the ASEAN climate change agenda in relation to various sustainable development strategies and actions in the Initiative for ASEAN Integration 2nd Work Plan, ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint, ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint, and ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint. Therefore, ASEAN is tackling climate change via the framework of ASEAN Community building, with strategies and activities anchored in various development and sectoral sectors, rather than solely through the climate change policy (Letchumanan 2010). The “ASEAN Vision 2020” aims to develop and create a "clean and green ASEAN '' with fully developed procedures to assure environmental preservation, the sustainability of natural resources, and a good standard of living for people in the area. the ASEAN Environment Ministers meet formally once every three years and have also been meeting informally every year since 1994; while the ASEAN Senior Officials on the Environment (ASOEN) meet annually and support the ASEAN Environment Ministers in terms of formulation, implementation, and monitoring of regional programs and activities (Letchumanan 2010). The ASEAN Working Group on Coastal and Marine Environment (AWGCME), the ASEAN Working Group on Environmental Education (AWGEE), the ASEAN Working Group on Environmentally Sustainable Cities (AWGESC), the ASEAN Working Group on Multilateral Environmental Agreements (AWGMEA), the ASEAN Working Group on Nature Conservation and Biodiversity (AWGNCB), and the ASEAN Working Group on Water Resources Management (AWGWRM) are six subsidiary bodies that support ASEAN.

Figure 1. ASEAN Institutional Framework (Environment). Source: Letchumanan, Raman (2010) Climate change: is Southeast Asia up to the challenge. bit.ly/3TPTZ9Q

ASEAN countries have reaffirmed their commitment to the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, in particular “in particular the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC)” throughout different actions:

Implementing the ASEAN SocioCultural Community (ASCC) Blueprint 2025's climate change initiatives in accordance with the general goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and national development priorities.
Supporting the development of the ASEAN Climate Change Initiative (ACCI).
Encourage and encourage the sharing of knowledge on scientific research and development (R&D), the use and transfer of technology, best practices for adaptation and mitigation measures, and the development of human resources.
Invite the international community to join and support ASEAN's efforts to decrease forest degradation and deforestation and to afforest and reforest areas.
Improve cooperation between ASEAN Member States and pertinent partners to address climate-related dangers and climate change scenarios; moreover
creating a regional system of systematic observation to track the effects of climate change on ASEAN's most vulnerable ecosystems (Letchumanan 2010)

Southeast Asia is leading the fight against climate change and its effects. The area's nations are home to some of the most amazing natural and cultural diversity on the globe, spread across archipelagos, river basins, and forests. However, the effects of climate change put hundreds of millions of people in grave danger: energy-related emissions are predicted to more than treble by 2030 (Asian Development Bank 2010). For two decades, Southeast Asia has been experiencing more frequent and more severe extreme weather events, including typhoons and droughts, as one of the world's most climate-vulnerable areas. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) believes that the region would be among the world's hardest-hit regions, although it is impossible to anticipate climate change's social and economic costs (Asian Development Bank 2010). According to the Global Climate Risk Index 2020, four Southeast Asian countries, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, are listed in the top 10 countries most affected by climate-related extremes between 1999 and 2018 (Eckstein, Künzel, Schäfer, Winges M 2019). As a result, initiatives to build resilience and implement climate adaptation strategies have attracted a lot of public attention (Seah, Martinus, Jiahui 2021)^.

Figure 1. Annual per capita GHG emissions in tCO2e, excl. LULUCF (2019). Marquardt J., Delina L. L., Smits M. (2022). Governing climate change in Southeast Asia, critical perspectives.

In the fight against climate change the main problem resides in the area's diversity. While Laos and Cambodia are among the least developed nations in the region and have low per-capita emissions, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam have evolved into societies with high emissions (Marquardt, Laurence, Delina, Mattijs Smits 2021). The World Bank (2018) frequently mentions Thailand and Indonesia as good examples of growth-oriented development models that the rest of the region should imitate. Indonesia's voluntary pledge to lower national emissions by 26% by 2020 (or up to 41% with international financial support) and efforts to access international donor funds for renewable energy and forest protection is remarkable; as well as Thailand's efforts to mainstream renewable energy and efficiency measures through aggressive incentives and targets (Asian Development Bank 2021).

Global problems require global solutions. For many years, the guiding idea of international climate change negotiations was "common but on the basis of differentiated responsibilities” (Romdhane 2021). Due to their desire for economic development, countries that have historically contributed little to climate change (mainly those from the Global South) were supposed to have less ambitious climate change commitments. Today things have changed. The lines between industrialised and developing countries on who is accountable for global environmental challenges have become more blurred due to the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (2015). Indeed, article 2(2) of the Paris Agreement states:

“This Agreement will be implemented to reflect equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances.”

This means that one of the key goals of the Paris Agreement is involving all Parties (developed and developing nations) in the mitigation obligations. The subtle difference between the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement ("in the light of different national circumstances") also highlights the various countries' levels of responsibility for greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reductions. This enables governments to take appropriate climate action to the best of their abilities while exercising due diligence and considering the risks involved with any action. As long as, since 2010, the annual collective emissions in Global South countries have exceeded those in the OECD, and the majority of the anticipated future emissions will originate from Global South countries (Marquardt, Laurence, Delina, Mattijs Smits 2021).

While national governments struggle to provide adequate regulatory frameworks for climate action across their jurisdictions, non-state actors and networks have supported various activities like climate-resilient development initiatives, urban climate planning, and ASEAN-wide coordination effort. In Southeast Asia, ADB's portfolio covers a wide range of actions, including promoting energy efficiency, increasing investments in renewable energy, supporting more effective, lower-carbon public transportation and urban waste management systems, and lowering deforestation and land degradation emissions. ADB is investing in the climate-proofing of infrastructures, such as rural roads, water utilities, urban roadways, and power plants, and assisting in the development of analytical methodologies and tools for large-scale adaptation planning at the local and regional levels (Asian Development Bank 2010).

What about the European Union (EU)?

The EU is implementing measures to incorporate environmental concerns into its trade and external relations policies in an effort to support global sustainable development. There is a focus on strengthening global environmental cooperation through an improved UN system, integrating environmental concerns into the expansion process, and striking a better balance between liberalised trade regulations and multilateral environmental agreements.

The EU Strategy "Europe 2020," is one of the first and most ambitious EU initiatives. Introduced in 2010, it aspires to achieve smart, sustainable, and equitable growth: in order to pursue it, a variety of actions at the national, EU, and global levels will be required. ASEAN is one of the many regional organisations with which the EU is involved to tackle the climate crisis (European Commission 2021).

The EU and ASEAN established a Strategic Partnership with ASEAN in December 2020. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and SouthEast Asia joined forces with the European Union to launch the "Green Team Europe Initiative" a year later, in November 2021, during the third ASEAN-EU Dialogue on Sustainable Development. The initiative will strengthen the EU's partnership with the region in climate action, environmental and biodiversity protection, clean energy transition, disaster resilience, and prevention of illegal logging, wildlife trafficking, and air pollution. Supported by an initial grant of €30 million from the EU budget, Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, said:

As strategic partners, the EU and ASEAN share a joint commitment to fostering a fairer, greener, and more sustainable future. Building back better supports our economies and creates decent employment opportunities while addressing climate change, tackling pollution, and protecting biodiversity […].

The Team Europe Initiative (TEI) addresses this challenge, an initiative worth a grant of 30 million euros within the European Green Deal framework, which aims to pursue a lasting and sustainable transformation towards circular, climate-neutral and environmentally sustainable economies and resilient ecosystems (European Commission 2021). The activities, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and the Paris Agreement, involve the protection of biodiversity and sustainable landscapes; clean, affordable and secure energy; circular economy; sustainable food system; green and smart cities; and finally horizontal issues, such as gender equality, digitalisation and safe migration (2021). Interventions at the national level are planned in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. While the Team Europe members see huge participation, Italy, Austria, Denmark, France, Germany and Romania, besides Europe (European Commission 2021); ASEAN and its member states, and other regional, international and public actors such as l’Agence Française de Développement (AFD), European Investment Bank (EIB) and the KfW Bankengruppe, a German state-owned investment and development bank. The Initiative, in line with the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, will be coordinated between the two counterparts throughout policy dialogue, technical assistance, diplomacy, policy coherence, blending and investments (2021).

Conclusion

Last September, the European Investment Bank (EIB) strengthened engagement in Southeast Asia and the Pacific with a new regional representation office in Jakarta. The EIB office in Jakarta will make efforts to guarantee that the development loans provided in conjunction with the Team Europe Initiative framework and the financial partners accelerate growth, increase the prosperity of rural areas, turn cities into centres of innovation, and support economies (European Investment Bank 2022). EU-ASEAN cooperation appears crucial in this period since the war in Ukraine caused a global crisis. Moreover, all eyes turn to the November G20 in Indonesia^: the rise of commodities and energy prices, inflation, the reduction of carbon emission are at the centre of the government's appeal “Recover Together, Recover Stronger" to the international community to join together and support one another as we recover together and grow stronger in a sustainable way (Rangga, Nabil 2022).

Bibliography

Asian Development Bank, Climate Change in Southeast Asia (November 2010).

Asean Joint Statement on Climate Change to the 25th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP25), https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/ASEAN_cop25cmp15cma2_HLS_EN.pdf.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations, The Asean Charter (December 2007), https://asean.org/wp-content/uploads/images/archive/publications/ASEAN-Charter.pdf.

CFR.org Editors. “What Is ASEAN?” Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, (April 2022). Accessed January 11, 2023. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-asean.

Eckstein D., Künzel V., Schäfer L., Winges M., Global Climate Risk Index 2020, Who Suffers Most from Extreme Weather Events? Weather-Related Loss Events in 2018 and 1999 to 2018, GermanWatch, https://www.germanwatch.org/sites/default/files/20-2-01e%20Global%20Climate%20Risk%20Index%202020_14.pdf.

Letchumanan, Raman (2010) Climate change: is Southeast Asia up to the challenge?: is there an ASEAN policy on climate change? IDEAS reports - special reports, Kitchen, Nicholas (ed.) SR004. LSE IDEAS, London School of Economics

Sasipornkarn, Emmy. “Is Southeast Asia Meeting Its Climate Commitments? – DW – 10/30/2021.” dw.com. Deutsche Welle, October 30, 2021