Question

What do you think are the most serious threats to South Asia posed by global climate change? How are the countries reacting to/preparing for these changes? Research and explain your answer. 250-350 words

Answer 1

As Vietnam and the rest of Southeast Asia bear the brunt of climate change, typhoons and floods are becoming more severe and more frequent. Long coastlines and densely populated low-lying areas make the country one of the most vulnerable to severe weather and rising sea levels associated with global warming, with over 640 million inhabitants worldwide. Governments are under pressure to move rapidly or risk giving up living standards improvements achieved over decades of export-led growth.

Southeast Asia is facing a twofold challenge. Not only will it respond to climate change caused primarily by greenhouse gasses produced by developed economies over the decades and more recently by emerging economies such as China and India it must also modify growth strategies that are gradually leading to global warming. The growing reliance on coal and oil in the country, along with deforestation, undermines national commitments to curb pollution and promote cleaner energy sources.

Since 1960 average temperatures have risen per decade in Southeast Asia. According to the Global Climate Threat Index (pdf) compiled by Germanwatch, an environmental organisation, Vietnam, Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand are among the ten countries in the world most affected by climate change in the last 20 years. The World Bank is listing Vietnam among five countries most likely to be impacted in the future by global warming.

Yet, promised emission cuts are partly or wholly conditional on international funding. Indonesia has pledged to reduce emissions by 29 percent by 2030 and said it could increase that to 41 percent with outside support. Vietnam’s analogous targets are 8 percent and 25 percent. The Philippines has made only a conditional pledge, of a 70 percent reduction. Even these conditional pledges will result in higher global warming than envisaged under the Paris Agreement, highlighting the need for more ambitious goals.

The advent of affordable low-carbon technology is seen by the IEA as a road to greater energy efficiency as falling solar and wind energy costs fuel investment in local manufacturing. For example, Malaysia and Thailand, with the aid of Chinese investors seeking to bypass anti-dumping duties levied by the European Union and the United States, are fast becoming global players in the manufacture of solar panels.