HANOI – Southeast Asia must act now to prevent the region from losing US$28 trillion (RM117.4 trillion) in economic potential over the next 50 years due to unmitigated climate change, according to a new Deloitte Economics Institute report.
In the report, titled “Southeast Asia’s turning point: How climate action can drive our economic future”, the institution also revealed how the region could instead gain US$12.5 trillion in economic value over the same period by limiting rising global temperatures and realising its potential to export decarbonisation to the world.
According to the Vietnam News Agency, Deloitte Southeast Asia CEO Philip Yuen stressed that Asean countries must act quickly – within the next 10 years – to circumvent irreversible damage from climate change.
He said the bloc’s economies have made strong commitments in this regard, but each country is at a different stage on the sustainability journey, owing to their unique geographic and economic circumstances.
To alter the trajectory, Southeast Asia must seize the opportunity to lead the charge and take climate action, said Yuen.
If no action is taken on climate change, average global temperatures could rise by 3°C or more by the end of this century. This will make it harder for people to live and work as sea levels rise, crop yields fall, infrastructure is damaged, and other challenges emerge.
Deloitte’s research also showed that if governments, businesses and communities act boldly and rapidly in the next decade to address climate change, average global temperature rises can be limited to around 1.5°C by 2050 – a scenario that would minimise the impact of climate change for Asean and the rest of the world.
At the same time, the region can achieve significant economic growth by supplying products and services, as well as providing financing solutions, to a world that will need to limit temperature increases. – Bernama, August 27, 2021
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