JAKARTA 23 APRIL – Southeast Asian lawmakers today commended the United States and fellow countries for announcing, on the occasion of the “climate leaders summit”, enhanced action to tackle climate change. 

“In this time of global climate meltdown and a devastating pandemic, the United States’ and fellow countries’ announcements are a welcome development to get the world one step closer to complying with the Paris Agreement.” said Wong Chen, member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) and a Member of Parliament (MP) of Malaysia. “However the world must do more to tackle climate change. As for ASEAN, we deeply regret that parties like Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore did not use this opportunity to enhance ambition despite being invited to the summit and we urge all countries in the region to put maximum efforts to realise their climate plans. If we do not step up to meet our obligations, we will risk a destabilised region with catastrophic geo-political impacts, including rising food insecurity, conflicts and environmental disasters”, he added.

With the world on track for a temperature rise of 3 degrees Celsius this century, MPs highlighted the critical need for more international action to address climate change and the lack of ambition of countries in the region. 

Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam’s climate action plans submitted to the Paris Agreement process are still considered highly insufficient and Thailand’s upgraded plan has still made no improvement to mitigate the impact of climate change, added APHR.

“Ambition across the world is not just too low, it’s abysmal. 2021 is the final year for countries to submit meaningful plans before their first review at COP26 in November. More countries, including the United States, must still increase their climate targets this year if we are to avoid a critical situation, with rising numbers of pests and diseases and displaced populations,” said Ibu Mercy Barends, board member of APHR, and Indonesian MP. 

APHR added that although the COVID-19 pandemic remains a challenge, it also creates a critical opportunity to decarbonize economies and ensure a green recovery. 

“States can harness this critical disruptive moment caused by the global pandemic to restructure their economy at minimal costs so as to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement. This means committing to decarbonizing economies, stepping away from coal power and tackling countries such as Cambodia’s alarming rates of deforestation. Last year, APHR submitted a manifesto committing to promoting a sustainable economic recovery from COVID-19. We call on fellow MPs and member states to join us in achieving this objective” said Wong Chen.

The United States announced a 50 to 52% reduction in the country’s greenhouse gas pollution levels in 2030 compared to 2005. This comes as groups demanded a fair share reduction of at least 70% domestically. Japan and Canada announced plans to cut their emissions by 46% in 2030 as compared to 2013 and 40-45% as compared to 2005 respectively. This was followed by further countries’ announcements to increase climate ambition including by South Korea and South Africa.