Asean can fill climate leadership void amid US retreat, says expert

Free Malaysia Today

LSE's Bob Ward says how the region responds to climate change will be pivotal to global climate efforts.   Read More:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2025/05/07/asean-can-fill-climate-leadership-void-amid-us-retreat-says-expert   Laporan Lanjut:   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com  Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5  Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM  Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h  Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp  Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX  Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb  Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj  Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Download FMT News App:  Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46  App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ  Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP   #FMTNews #BobWard #Asean #Climate

Transcript

00:00The ASEAN region is absolutely critical to tackling climate change. What happens

00:07here and the form of economic development and growth that the ASEAN

00:11countries adopt is absolutely critical to whether we are successful tackling

00:16climate change. U.S. President Donald Trump's return to the White House has

00:21opened the door for ASEAN nations to take the lead on global climate action, a

00:25climate expert said. Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the

00:29Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London

00:34School of Economics, said the U.S. is no longer a reliable international partner

00:38on many issues, including climate change, citing its withdrawal from global climate

00:43efforts such as the Paris Agreement. If the Americans step back from the

00:47international stage, it creates opportunities for others to step forward

00:50and lead. China will clearly do that, but I hope that the ASEAN region will also

00:55step forward and show leadership on this issue and others.

00:59ASEAN has established a regional climate change strategic action plan to drive its

01:04transition toward climate targets, while Malaysia, as the current chair, launched

01:09its National Energy Transition Roadmap in 2024, aiming for net zero emissions by 2050.

01:14Ward also said switching to alternative energy sources would be economically prudent for

01:20developing countries, citing China's leadership in renewable energy, electric

01:24vehicles and clean tech exports.

01:27So in the earlier days of climate policy, and particularly around the original climate

01:35treaties, there was a perception that climate action was a burden, a burden to be

01:40shouldered by every country and a burden that was shared. And therefore there was incentive

01:46for countries to, you know, to shift the burden onto others. But actually, the analysis now

01:54showed that the transition away from fossil fuels to clean energy is not a burden, it's

01:59a huge economic opportunity. So it's now no longer about burden sharing, but more about

02:05who can seize the opportunities most.

02:07Donnie Sharad-Jarizza, FMT.

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