Asean must take leadership role at UN Climate Summit: greens

Southeast Asian nations among those hardest hit by global warming impacts.

A man stands on the roof of his home in a neighborhood devastated by Typhoon Haiyan, in Tacloban, November 2013

Manila:  Environmental and human rights groups Monday called on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to present a united front ahead of a global climate change summit.

Pointing to a series of environmental catastrophes that have wreaked havoc on Asean nations in recent years, experts urged Southeast Asian governments to take a leading role in global climate negotiations at Tuesday’s UN Climate Summit in New York.

At a press conference in Manila, the umbrella group Asean for a Fair, Ambitious and Binding Climate Deal (A-FAB) presented a policy brief, 'Weathering Extremes: The Need for a Stronger Asean response,' highlighting the region’s vulnerability to extreme weather events.

In it, they note the devastation wrought last year in the Philippines by Typhoon Haiyan, and the dwindling of monsoons in Myanmar -- which has severely affected farming practices in the heavily agricultural country -- as signs that Southeast Asia would pay a particularly harsh cost if the effects of climate change were not arrested soon.

"This is an issue for Asean countries," said Tun Lwin, CEO of Myanmar Climate Change Watch.

He said many Asean countries were far too careless regarding the consumption of resources.

"If we consume energy resources that are not renewable then they will become exhausted. If we consume food resources faster than replenishing them, they will be exhausted," he said.

According to Lwin, climate experts name a number of Asean countries, including Myanmar, Vietnam and the Philippines, as among those to already be hardest hit by climate change.

Riza Bernabe, policy and research coordinator of Oxfam's East Asia GROW campaign, said the threat to agricultural practices was also a threat to food security globally. The Asean region contains five of the ten biggest rice-producing countries in the world.

"Huge resources are needed for adaptation to sustainable agriculture," she said. "Asean needs to step up and take an active role in climate change negotiations, while also developing regional programs to promote sustainable agriculture."

But despite the expediency, there are a number of political and economic reasons why it may not be practical for Asean to operate as a formal "bloc" on this issue, said Zelda Soriano, Greenpeace Southeast Asia political advisor.

For this reason, some believe it may be time to rethink the "Asean way" of action by consensus.

"Why should the majority drown because a minority disagree with a course of action?" said Dr Orly Mercado, secretary-general of the Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration, and a former Philippines senator.

Pope Francis has repeatedly called for better defense of the environment, even terming destruction a “sinful act.” Scientists have recently highlighted religious leaders, particularly the pontiff, as key to staunching climate change.

Oxam’s Bernabe said she was hopeful the increased role of the Church could lead to better protections.

"When the leader of the Church is speaking on these issues it can only be a good thing in helping to mobilize people," she said.

"I am a Catholic, but I speak as an environmental activist when I say that we very seriously need all the help we can get.”

Source" ucanews.com