Southeast Asia faces test of turning climate promises into action
Climate advocates are in Singapore for the Climate Reality Leadership Corps Training, organised by former US Vice President Al Gore’s nonprofit organisation The Climate Reality Project.
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SINGAPORE: From giving young people a greater say in policymaking to protecting communities from climate-related health risks, Southeast Asia faces a growing challenge: turning climate commitments into meaningful action on the ground.
These were some of the issues in focus at the Climate Reality Leadership Corps Training in Singapore, organised by The Climate Reality Project, a nonprofit founded by former United States Vice President Al Gore.
The two-day event, which began on Tuesday (Sep 8), has brought together about 800 participants from across Southeast Asia. Half of them are aged 30 or younger, according to the organisation.
The Singapore gathering marks the organisation’s 10th leadership training in the region and its first session in the country.
Topics covered include the region’s energy transition, climate finance and regional cooperation, with participants hearing from Mr Gore as well as scientists and climate experts.
Climate Reality Project president and CEO Phyllis Cuttino said the training comes at a critical time for Asia, as global emissions continue to rise, while “government ambition” in some parts of the world is waning.
“Asia is so important in the next decade for really determining the trajectory of the climate crisis,” Ms Cuttino told CNA.
She said Singapore had shown leadership when it came to tackling the climate crisis, adding that countries around the world could learn from its example.
“Singapore, for instance, is one of the few nations in the world that disincentivises pollution with both a carbon tax and without subsidising fossil fuels,” she said.
Ms Cuttino said participants were being equipped with the knowledge, skills and networks to help drive climate solutions in their communities, countries and across the region.
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YOUTH INFLUENCE ON POLICIES
As Southeast Asia makes decisions that will shape its climate policies for decades, a key question is who gets a meaningful say in making them.
Young people are increasingly part of that conversation, but youth climate advocates say representation and consultation do not necessarily translate into influence.
For young people, getting a seat at the table is only the first step, said Ms Jitsai Santaputra, co-founder of Youth for Energy Southeast Asia and founding member of the Thailand Youth Climate Council.
“We need to really consider young people as not just beneficiaries of policies, but people who can provide input and real feedback onhow energy is being consumed and what kind of energy they want to be consuming,” she said.
She noted that she was seeing more young people represented in stakeholder discussions in Southeast Asia, alongside a broader range of civil society voices.
“As much as I want to say that I'm seeing very real, translatable actions based on the feedback that are provided, I'm really not seeing that as much in Southeast Asia.”
She said what was lacking was “that space and that follow-through”, calling for structures that policymakers follow to show how they are implementing feedback.
CLIMATE CHANGE AS A HEALTH ISSUE
Climate change is also becoming increasingly personal through its impact on health.
Extreme heat is the clearest example, but the risks stretch from air quality and disease to food and water security – especially in dense, fast-growing cities across Southeast Asia.
“Climate change is already affecting the health of the world, especially of the marginalised, the vulnerable, in poorer countries,” said SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute’s associate professor of global and planetary health Renzo Guinto.
Even in Singapore, day-to-day exposure to heat is already affecting people’s physical and mental health, he said.
Assoc Prof Guinto also pointed to flooding in Metro Manila due to intense rain and typhoons in his home country of the Philippines, saying infectious diseases and other health impacts were being borne by the “poorest of the poor”.
“The climate impact on health is already present, palpable, and therefore it needs to be addressed.”
Looking at climate change through the lens of health could offer another way to address the issue, given how much people value their health and well-being, he added.
GREENER MOBILITY IN CITIES
Beyond its impact on health, tackling climate change also means rethinking how people move around cities.
Ms Golda Hilario, director for urban development at the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, said efforts were already under way to address transport emissions, but the scale of change was not yet sufficient.
She said making cities more compact and accessible could reduce reliance on private motorised vehicles, with people able to use public transport, walk or cycle instead.
“The push is not just drastic actions to electrify, but also ensuring that the systems work around it,” said Ms Hilario.
She added that these systems should be “affordable, accessible for everyone”, so that people have more options in how they travel around their cities.
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