Asean’s climate commitment still intact amid geopolitical, economic uncertainty

[SINGAPORE] While sustainability has taken a backseat globally in light of ongoing geopolitical and economic uncertainties, this could provide an opportunity for Asean to play a leading role in climate action, said Eugene Wong, chief executive officer of the Sustainable Finance Institute of Asia (SFIA), which is host of the Asean Taxonomy Board.

In fact, current Asean chair Malaysia’s public reaffirmation of the need to continue regional cooperation on climate shows that the commitment is still intact.

During the recent sustainability-focused Ecosperity conference organised by Temasek, the country’s Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said that there is an urgent need to protect South-east Asia’s populations and coastal cities, given the region’s vulnerability to extreme weather events.