ClimateGovernanceforaGreen,Net-zeroandResilientFutureinChinaandAsia-PacificRegionClimateGovernanceforaGreen,Net-zeroandResilientFutureinChinaandAsia-PacificRegion20231GlobalContextInrecentyears,bothscientificevidenceandextremeweathereventshavedemonstratedaglobalclimateemergency.Asclimatechangerelatedextremeweathereventsarebecomingmorefrequent,vulnerablepopulationsaroundtheworldareincreasinglyexposedtoadverseimpacts.ClimateChange2021:ThePhysicalScienceBasispublishedbyWorkingGroupIoftheIPCC’sSixthAssessmentReport1,assertsthathuman-inducedglobalwarmingishappeningataratethathasnotbeenseeninthelast2000yearsandthatglobalsurfacetemperatureswillcontinuetorisebythemiddleofthiscentury.TheIPCCwarnsthatunlessgreenhousegas(GHG)emissionsarereducedsignificantlyinthenextfewdecades,theParisAgreement’slong-termglobaltemperaturecontroltargetwillnotbeachieved.ItisencouragingtonotethatsincetheParisAgreementwassigned,nationshavebeenenhancingtheirclimateambitionsandactions,withmanypledgingtoachievethe‘net-zero’targets.Forinstance,ChinadeclaredinSeptember2020thatitaimedtoreachitspeakCO2emissionsbefore2030andachieve‘carbonneutrality’before2060,andtheEuropeanUnionplanstobecomea‘net-zero’greenhousegasemittingeconomyby2050.Thetimelineforachieving‘net-zero’variesfromcountrytocountry,dependingonthecapabilitiesoftheirsocioeconomicdevelopmentandtechnologicallevel.Fordevelopingcountries,adoptingeffectiveemissionreductionmeasurestoachieve‘net-zero’meansthattheirdevelopmentneedstobedecoupledfromhighcarbonemissionsandfreefromtherelianceontraditionalfossilfuelstoaccelerateeconomicgrowth.Undoubtedly,developingcountriesneedresourcesandsupportfromtheinternationalcommunity,especiallyfromdevelopedcountriesintermsoffinance,technology,andcapacitybuilding,toensureanearlyparadigmshiftintheirdevelopmentandsuccessfulimplementationoftheSDGs.Financialsupport,technicaltransferandcapacitybuildingfromdevelopedcountriestodevelopingcountries(North-SouthCooperation)isanecessarymeansofaddressingthedevelopmentproblemsofdevelopingcountries.Inaddition,South-SouthClimateCooperationamongdevelopingcountrieshasalsoplayedanindispensableroleinexploringsustainable2developmentpaths.InJanuary2021,Chinapublishedawhitepaperon“China’sInternationalDevelopmentCooperationintheNewEra”.Inthewhitepaper,China,asastaunchsupporter,activeparticipantandkeycontributortoSouth-Southcooperation,will“shareitsexperienceandapproachwithotherdevelopingcountries,helpthemimprovetheircapacityforgovernance,planning,andeconomicdevelopment,andtraintechnicalprofessionalsandcapablepersonnelingovernance”,topromote“jointeffortsforcommondevelopment”.OverviewofClimateTargetsofDevelopingCountriesinSoutheastAsiaRegionSoutheastAsiaandClimateChangeintheRegion:BackgroundSoutheastAsia2iscurrentlyoneofthefastest-growingregionsintheworld,withasteadygrowthperformance.Strongdevelopmentdemandwithmorethan600millionpopulationisthekeydriverbehindtheregion’seconomicgrowth,inparticularitsrecoveryfromtheCOVID-19pandemic.From2009to2019,thetotalGDPofASEAN(AssociationofSoutheastAsianNations)doubledto3.2trillionUSD3,withanannualgrowthrateof4.4%.AccordingtoanoutlookoftheAsianDevelopmentBank(ADB)releasedinApril20234,GDPgrowthinSoutheastAsiaisforecastat4.7%intheyear2023andupto5.0%inthenextyear.Asaregionasawhole,economicgrowthintheSoutheastAsiahasbeensolid.However,differentcou...
