Asia-Pacific also driving climate change on Paris anniversary

THIS week marks the first anniversary of the landmark agreement of the Paris climate change agreement. Since then, the deal has been ratified in almost record time for such a comprehensive, international pact. In the Asia-Pacific, for instance, the deal has already been signed into law in 2016 by multiple key countries across the region. They include Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.

While much attention in recent weeks has focused on US President-elect Donald Trump's potential policies towards global warming, his coming to power will likely complicate, rather than end, the Paris deal.

One manifestation of the reality on-the-ground of changing attitudes about climate change is the growth of domestic climate legislation and regulation adopted by nations, as a study published last year by the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics underlines.