Improved infrastructure and advances in technology will help deliver a green economic recovery in Asia. (PHOTO / IC)
Climate change may be an abstract issue for many, but environmental anthropologist Serina Abdul Rahman points out that this is far from the case with a fishing community in the southern Malaysian state of Johor.
Serina, a visiting fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore working with fishermen in Johor, has seen firsthand how stronger typhoons and rising sea levels have brought home the crisis for people dependent on the ocean for their survival. Declining fish catches are now their immediate concern.
“In the past, some of these changes could be assumed to be the result of coastal development,” she said. “But in 2021, this does not apply as everything had ground to a halt due to COVID-19. Yet we see a drastic reduction in fish catch.”
Serina said this is why it is “incredibly important” to promote a green pandemic recovery to ensure sustainability and protect livelihoods.
As Asia slowly recovers from the pandemic, it is important for policymakers to include climate adaptation and mitigation measures in planning, analysts said.
Decarbonization of the economy has been a key theme in the region. At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting hosted by New Zealand, the leaders’ summit ended on Nov 12 with a declaration acknowledging the need for “urgent and concrete action to transition to a climate-resilient future global economy”.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Nov 11 at the APEC CEO Summit that China will “advance green transition” and contribute to ecological conservation in the Asia-Pacific. The country plans to hit peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.
COVID-19 has “highlighted the need to urgently reorganize society toward one that is both ecologically sustainable and socially just”, said Cesar Carlito Baclagon, regional finance campaigner at 350.org, an international environmental group.
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific said in its Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2021 that over the past 50 years, natural hazards in the region have affected 6.9 billion people and killed more than 2 million.
Saleemul Huq, director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development, a think tank in Bangladesh, said a climate-resilient economic rebound is important because Asia is among regions most vulnerable to climate change, and is also among the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases.
He said Bangladesh is “taking adaptation and building resilience as a major pathway”. Saleemul cited a decision by Bangladesh’s energy ministry to cancel plans to build 10 coal-fired power plants and the nation’s plans to develop wind power plants.
Other Asian countries are shifting to renewables and gradually reducing fossil fuel use to fulfill their commitments under the Paris Agreement.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his nation will achieve net-zero emissions by 2070 and that renewable energy sources will account for about half the country’s power generation by 2030.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said the country will end coal-fired power generation by 2050. South Korea also joined the Global Methane Pledge at the COP26 climate summit, a global pact to cut methane emissions by more than 30 percent by 2030 from 2020 levels.
Indonesia will stop building coal-fired power plants after 2023 and is set to impose a carbon tax in 2022. President Joko Widodo said Indonesia is rehabilitating 600,000 hectares of mangrove forests until 2024.
Baclagon, from 350.org, said the climate response “demands swift and unprecedented action” from national governments and the international community.
“COP26 has resulted in agreements that show only incremental steps forward rather than the monumental leaps needed to ensure a livable planet for all,” he said. “This is where intergovernmental forums like the APEC could help bridge the gaps for insubstantial outcomes that were achieved during COP26.”
Xu Weiwei in Hong Kong contributed to this story.
