Thailand Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has called on developed countries to deliver on their financial commitments to scale-up climate finance that is secure, predictable and sustainable beyond next year.
Delivering a statement on behalf of Asean member states to the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York in his role as Asean Chair, General Chan-o-cha said that the increased impacts of climate change have increasingly threatened the region’s economic and social progress.
“Asean is highly vulnerable to impacts of climate change since most of our population lives along low-lying coasts and river plains. To minimise the effects we have strived to strengthen our resilience by implementing both climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. Asean is committed to being actively involved in global climate action at various levels”, he said.
Asean has exceeded its energy efficiency target
General Chan-o-cha told the assembly that in the area of energy transition “Asean has exceeded its energy efficiency target, reducing energy intensity by more than 21.9 per cent compared to 2005 levels, well ahead of its 2020 target.
Asean will continue to work towards the long-term target to reduce energy intensity by 30 per cent by 2025″, he said, adding that the trading bloc has set a target to increase the component of renewable energy mix by 23 per cent by 2025.
General Chan-o-cha also told the gathering that Asean aims to reduce the average fuel consumption of new light-duty vehicles sold throughout the region by 26 per cent between 2015 and 2025.
Member countries will also, he said, introduce and strengthen fiscal policy measures based on fuel economy or on CO2 emissions at national levels. In the long term the aim was the adoption of a regional fuel consumption standards for light-duty vehicles.
Partnership is vital
Referring to last year’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report “which warned us that we have less time to avoid potentially irreversible climate disruption”, General Chan-o-cha said “no one country can fight climate change alone. Partnership is vital”.
Stressing that “Asean stands ready to advance its partnership with the global community on climate action to ensure sustainability for present and future generations”, General Chan-o-cha said “today is an opportunity for developed countries to deliver on their financial commitments, and we also hope to see their strong political signals to scale-up climate finance that is secure, predictable and sustainable in the post-2020 context”.
General Chan-o-cha’s address on Monday (Sep 23) comes just days after students across the Asia-Pacific region joined their contemporaries globally for a day of climate crisis protests aimed at expressing their displeasure in the way world leaders and the heads of industry are damaging the Earth’s environment in the pursuit of endless profits (See: Climate strike Asean: youth across the AP demand climate action (photo gallery)) .
