Nature-based solutions critical to S-E Asia’s adaptation to global warming

FLOODS, droughts and chronic heat are the most pressing areas in which South-east Asian countries must prioritise adaptation investments, sustainability professionals told The Business Times.

While companies need to address their physical risk exposure, greater onus is on governments to implement system-wide policy changes that integrate climate resilience into urban planning and economic development, the observers said. The effectiveness of nature-based solutions, in particular, should not be underestimated.

Those comments came in the wake of the Paris Agreement’s first “Global Stocktake” synthesis report, which showed that adaptation efforts are not keeping pace with increasing climate impacts and risks. The report will play a key role in the upcoming United Nations Climate Conference in Dubai, which begins in late November, as negotiators contemplate the future of their climate commitments.