Ms Grazyna PULAWSKA, Acting Director of the Sustainable Development and Public Health Department was invited to speak at a panel on climate change mitigation strategies in Southeast Asia. The panel explored the role ASEAN can play to sustain stability and growth in this region.
The COVID-19 pandemic has left Southeast Asian economies staggering, therefore besides public health concerns, most political and fiscal action and resources are directed towards curbing the repercussions of the coronavirus. However, unresolved issues of global Climate Change are among the top threats to long-term regional stability – increased temperatures, sea-level rise, more often recurring heavy rains and subsequent floods, are jeopardizing food and water security, creating more poverty and social inequalities, and thereby political instability. Despite having not responsive collectively to COVID-19, ASEAN as a collective can play an important role in mitigating Climate Change as all of its member countries have committed to substantial emission cuts in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
