As one of the regions most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, Southeast Asia knows the extent of the risk more than most. But is the region doing enough to take the problem seriously?
Southeast Asians view intense rainstorms and flooding as the most serious impact of global warming, a survey foundImage: Jack Taylor/AFP
"Recent studies estimate that up to 96% of the ASEAN region is likely to be affected by drought, and up to 64% affected by extreme drought," Benjamin P. Horton, director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore at Nanyang Technological University, told DW.
"Future sea-level rise will affect populations, economies and infrastructure of every coastal nation," he added.
During last year alone, almost 5 million people were affected when Typhoon Vamco battered the Philippines and Vietnam in November 2020while 289 people died in the floods caused by tropical storm Linfa in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam just a month earlier, according to a September report by the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and its climate center.
A climate survey by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute found that Southeast Asians view the increasingly intense rainstorms and flooding as the most serious impact of global warming.
Mekong River threatened by dams, climate change
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Concrete climate action is lacking
Most countries in the region have pledged to speed up reductions in greenhouse gas emissions as part of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, the main goal of which is to limit warming to under 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) relative to pre-industrial levels.
They have also passed laws and policies to address climate change — but more can still be done, according to Melinda Martinus, a lead researcher at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.
"I believe there will be many more developments coming from the region as businesses and governments face pressure to take more action to address climate change. Hopefully, those will be much more ambitious," Martinus told DW.
While climate change has repeatedly been identified at ASEAN summits and meetings as a critical regional challenge, concrete action is still lacking.
"Clearly, these visions need to be articulated into much clearer programs and strategies in the near future," said Martinus.
Net-zero targets
Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy and the world's eighth-biggest greenhouse gas emitter, aims to attain net-zero emissions by 2060.
Though the country — the world's top exporter of thermal or steam coal, used to generate electricity — has plans to phase out fossil fuel for electricity generation by 2056 and has pledged not to commission any additional coal power plants, it is still 60% powered by coal.
Meanwhile, Thailand pledged in 2015 to reduce its emissions by 20% by 2030 with newly announced proposals to achieve carbon neutrality by 2065 to 2070.
But even if it achieves those targets, the country would still be 15 to 20 years behind the timeline set by the UN, including reaching zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, the principal goal of the COP26 climate summit being held next week in Glasgow.
Andrew Beirne, the UK's economic and prosperity councilor, said last week that Thailand should raise its 2015 target of reducing emissions by 20%, suggesting the country could achieve a 30% reduction, according to local media.
The manufacturing and transport sectors are expected to make severe cuts — nearly 73% of the entire goal — but power production, the biggest contributor to emissions, is only required to reduce them by around 20% to meet the current target, according to Thailand's road map for nationally determined contributions (NDC), or emissions cut pledges.
Singapore has also not set a target date for achieving net-zero emissions.
"By 2050, Singapore currently aims to cut emissions by 50% from their peak, with no definite deadline for reaching net-zero emissions. Other nations, however, have been more ambitious in their targets," said Horton.
In pictures: Deadly extreme weather shocks the world
From the Mediterranean to Germany to California and beyond, dramatic pictures of the severe impacts of extreme weather have been dominating the news this summer. Is the climate crisis to blame?
Image: Jon Nazca/REUTERS
Rainfall best ally for Spanish firefighters
A wildfire that burned through at least 7,780 hectares (30 square miles) in about a week and devastated forests in southern Spain was brought under control thanks to steady rains. The downpour helped the firefighters, who were backed by some 50 aircrafts. The blaze was one of the most difficult to combat in recent times in Spain. Some 2,600 people were forced to flee their homes.
Image: Jon Nazca/REUTERS
Fierce flash floods in Europe
Unprecedented flooding — caused by two months' worth of rainfall in two days — has resulted in devastating damage in central Europe, leaving at least 226 people dead in Germany and Belgium. Narrow valley streams swelled into raging floods in the space of hours, wiping out centuries-old communities. Rebuilding the ruined homes, businesses and infrastructure is expected to cost billions of euros.
Image: Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images
Europe on fire
While half of Europe is drowning, elsewhere areas are going up in flames: Large fires raged, particularly in Greece, Italy and Turkey. They have caused unforeseeable monetary damage, while thousands of people in Europe have lost their homes and their belongings.
Image: ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP
Record heat in Italy
In addition to deadly wildfires, Italy also battled record heat temperatures, with the Italian Health Ministry issuing the maximum possible heat warning level for many cities. On the island of Sicily, 48.8 degrees Celsius (almost 120 degrees Fahrenheit) was measured on August 11 — a new European heat record. The heat could make existing fires worse, or lead to new ones.
Image: Andrew Medichini/AP/picture alliance
Still out of control
Meanwhile, the Dixie Fire continues smoldering in California. It's California's largest fire on record, and among the most destructive in the state's history — it wiped the town of Greenville off the map. Although it's about 60% contained, the fire continues to burn two months in. Meanwhile, hot and dry conditions continue in the region, spreading fears of more fire.
Image: DAVID SWANSON/REUTERS
Extreme rainy seasons
Earlier this summer, record floods also hit parts of India and central China, overwhelming dams and drains and flooding streets. The downpours have been particularly heavy, even for the rainy season. Scientists have predicted that climate change will lead to more frequent and intense rainfall — warmer air holds more water, creating more rain.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
Greece melts down amid heat waves
As nations flood in northern Europe, Mediterranean countries like Greece were in the grip of several heat waves. In the first week of July, temperatures soared to 43 degrees Celsius (109 Fahrenheit). Tourism hot spots like the Acropolis were forced to shut during the day, while the extreme heat also sparked forest fires outside Thessaloniki, which helicopters tried to douse.
Image: Sakis Mitrolidis/AFP/Getty Images
Sardinia scorched by 'unprecedented' wildfires
"It is an unprecedented reality in Sardinia’s history," said Sardinia's Governor Christian Salinas of the ongoing wildfires that have scorched the historic central western area of Montiferru. "So far, 20,000 hectares of forest that represent centuries of environmental history of our island have gone up in ashes." Around 1,500 people were evacuated from the island by the end of July.
Image: Vigili del Fuoco/REUTERS
Heat records in the US, Canada
Intense heat is becoming more common, as seen in late June in the US states of Washington and Oregon and the Canadian province of British Columbia. Scorching temperatures under a "heat dome," hot air trapped for days by high pressure fronts, caused hundreds of heat-related deaths. The village of Lytton recorded a high of 49.6 Celsius (121 Fahrenheit) — and burned to the ground the next day.
Image: Ted S. Warren/AP/picture alliance
Wildfires sparking thunderstorms
Heat and drought are fueling one of the most intense wildfire seasons in the West Coast and Pacific Northwest regions. Oregon's Bootleg Fire, which burned an area the size of Los Angeles in just two weeks, was so big it created its own weather and sent smoke all the way to New York City. A recent study said the weather conditions would have been "virtually impossible" without climate change.
Image: National Wildfire Coordinating Group/Inciweb/ZUMA Wire/picture alliance
Amazon nearing a 'tipping point'?
To the south, central Brazil is suffering its worst drought 100 years, increasing the risk of fires and further deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. Researchers recently reported that a large swath of the southeastern Amazon has flipped from absorbing to emitting planet-warming CO2 emissions, pushing the rainforest closer to a "tipping point."
Image: Andre Penner/AP Photo/picture alliance
'On the verge of starvation'
After years of unrelenting drought, more than 1.14 million people in Madagascar are food-insecure, with some now forced to eat raw cactus, wild leaves and roots, and locusts in famine-like conditions. With the absence of natural disaster, crop failure or political conflict, the dire situation in the African nation is said to be first famine in modern history caused solely by climate change.
Image: Laetitia Bezain/AP photo/picture alliance
More people fleeing natural disasters
The number of people fleeing conflict and natural disasters hit a 10-year high in 2020, with a record 55 million people relocating within their own country. That's in addition to some 26 million people who fled across borders. A joint report released by refugee monitors in May found that three-quarters of the internally displaced were victims of extreme weather — and that number is likely to grow.
Image: Fabeha Monir/DW
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Are these goals adequate?
Research group Climate Action Tracker has said that while Southeast Asian countries have varying degrees of commitment to tackle global warming, none are sufficiently acting on pledges made under the Paris climate deal.
"The Climate Action Tracker ranked Indonesia's and Vietnam's overall NDC update as highly insufficient. Meanwhile, Singapore is critically inadequate," said Martinus.
"Clearly, those countries should have raised more ambitious targets to help the world limit global heating to well below 2 degrees Celsius," she added.