Thammasat University students interested in ASEAN studies, ecology, environmental studies, history, political science, economics, and related subjects may find it useful to participate in a free 17 September Zoom webinar on Crossing the Climate Threshold: Urgent Actions for Southeast Asia’s Sustainable Future.
The event, on Tuesday, 17 September 2024 at 9am Bangkok time, is presented by ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore.
The TU Library collection includes some books about different aspects of climate change in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) community.
Students are welcome to register for the event at this link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/5717249192179/WN_ZRcGnxNFSkS_Q1l19YeXOA#/
The event website explains:
Scientists are warning us that we may have reached a critical tipping point in our planetary system, one from which there may be no return. The devastating climate impacts we are currently witnessing—raging heat waves, unprecedented storms, and severe droughts—are just the beginning. If we tip over this point, these disasters will only escalate, becoming more frequent, prolonged, and intense. Southeast Asia, in particular, faces a grim climate future, with predictions of escalating environmental crises that could cripple economies and endanger millions of lives. Despite this looming catastrophe, ASEAN countries have only just begun to raise their climate ambitions—yet these efforts are woefully insufficient to keep global temperatures under the crucial 1.5-degree threshold. The window for meaningful action is closing rapidly, and without immediate and decisive action, the consequences could be irreversible.
Southeast Asia is at a critical juncture, struggling to balance the urgent need for economic development with the equally pressing demand for climate transition. The enormous challenge of implementing a low-carbon future has driven ASEAN countries to seek deeper cooperation within the region and beyond, but these transformations are fraught with complexities that will profoundly impact our daily lives. How do we reconcile economic growth with the necessary fossil fuel phase-down? Are we prepared for the socioeconomic upheavals that could arise from carbon taxes? What about the growing threats to food security as climate change exacerbates regional vulnerabilities? Moreover, as these challenges intensify, will Southeast Asia rise to the occasion and produce a regional or global climate leader who can steer the region—and the world—toward a more sustainable future? The stakes have never been higher, and the decisions made today will determine the trajectory of our region for generations to come.
About the Survey Launch
In 2020, the Climate Change in Southeast Asia Programme at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute initiated the Southeast Asia Climate Outlook Survey, a region-wide annual survey to understand the climate awareness and perceptions of Southeast Asian citizens. The survey is designed to analyse the attitudes and concerns of Southeast Asian citizens towards climate change, governmental policies and actions and the role of different stakeholders in climate action. This year’s survey is the fifth iteration and delves into public opinion on topics such as renewable energy transition, food security, and climate governance. This hybrid seminar will launch the Report and discuss key findings with a panel of four expert discussants versed in regional climate and environmental policy.
About the Speakers
H.E. Dr. Sophalleth Eang currently holds the position of Minister at the Ministry of Environment of Cambodia. […]
Mr. Choi Shing Kwok is the Director & CEO of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, which does research on the political, economic and socio-cultural developments in Southeast Asia. […]
Professor Benjamin Horton is Director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore at Nanyang Technological University. […]
A climate economist by practice, Dr. Masyita Crystallin is driven to transform economic systems to tackle structural challenges. […]
Ms. Sharon Seah is Senior Fellow and concurrent Coordinator of the ASEAN Studies Centre and the Climate Change in Southeast Asia Programme at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. […]
Ms. Melinda Martinus is Lead Researcher in the Climate Change in Southeast Asia Programme and the ASEAN Studies Centre at ISEAS. […]
An article posted last year on the website of the Voice of America observed:
Facing Climate Change, ASEAN Starts Cooperating on Regional Power-Sharing Grid
The increasingly urgent threat posed by climate change is pushing ASEAN nations to start cooperating on a 20-year-old plan to develop a regional power-sharing grid.
The goal is to speed the transition to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and hydroelectric power by facilitating the transfer of energy from countries where there is a surplus to countries that need it.
In August, utility companies in Malaysia and Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding to study 18 potential locations where cross-border transmission lines could be set up.
The deal, which comes in addition to power-trading deals among Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, was signed on the sidelines of the 41st ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting held in conjunction with a regional energy business forum on August 24 in Bali, Indonesia.
Beni Suryadi, manager of power, fossil fuel, alternative energy and storage at the ASEAN Centre for Energy in Jakarta, Indonesia, said lines between countries are economically and technically feasible, and are supported by regional governments. Renewable energy “has become a crucial need for every country,” he said.
Energy demand in the region grew by more than 80% between 2000 and 2019 and is expected to triple by 2050 from the 2020 level, according to a 2023 ASEAN-EU Business Council report.
The report stressed the urgency of transitioning to renewable energy, saying “increasingly severe weather, rising sea levels, and widespread tropical diseases all accompany climate change, to name a few scourges. There are estimates that climate change and its effects will wipe out 11% of ASEAN’s GDP by 2100.”
Dato’ Indera Ir. Baharin, president and CEO of Malaysia’s national utility company, called an interconnected ASEAN power grid “a critical step in the region’s energy transition.”
“A robust regional interconnection will allow for a wider reallocation of renewable energy resources that will help decarbonise the ASEAN power system,” Baharin said in August. “It will help us to ensure the region’s energy security … and transition to a cleaner, more sustainable future.” […]
Ryan Wong and Lee Poh Onn, of ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, a think-tank headquartered in Singapore, wrote in February 2022 that there are doubts whether Southeast Asian governments recognize the benefits of harmonizing their energy grids and selling surplus energy.
“Southeast Asian countries are in general insular in their policy thinking. Therefore, it takes strong political will for them to look beyond national borders and immediate needs,” they wrote.
Diverse energy options
Driving the energy-sharing idea is the fact that the ASEAN members — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam — have diverse sources of renewable energy.
Indonesia and the Philippines, for example, have substantial geothermal capacity. Laos and Malaysia have hydropower capacity. Vietnam has wind and solar capacity, and there is significant solar energy capacity in Thailand and Malaysia. […]
(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)