"We urge ASEAN member states to use stimulus packages to
prioritize green investments which will put our economies on a
growth path that helps stop climate change. The current economic
crisis provides an unprecedented opportunity for a new green deal
for Southeast Asia to create jobs, rebuild critical infrastructure
to support renewable energy and energy efficiency, lay the
foundation for a new energy economy as well as gain financial
support for forest protection," said Tara Buakamsri, Campaign
Manager of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
Scientists have repeatedly warned that Southeast Asia is among
the most vulnerable and least prepared areas to cope with the
impacts of global warming. The worsening cycles of droughts, forest
fires and storms, which result to loss of lives and devastate
economies, have already become an annual occurrence in the
region.
Most ASEAN members are signatories to the Singapore Declaration
on Climate Change, Energy and the Environment (adopted in November
2007) and the subsequent Beijing Declaration (adopted in October
2008). Both declarations recognize the urgency of combating climate
change through the Kyoto Protocol and through nationally
appropriate mitigation actions.
"Greenpeace is calling on your Excellencies to represent the
interests of Southeast Asian communities and future generations by
pushing the international community to take immediate
responsibility and help avert climate catastrophe," said Von
Hernandez, Executive Director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, in a
letter addressed to ASEAN heads of states.
Specifically, Greenpeace wants ASEAN member states to support
the completion of a strong climate deal in Copenhagen in December
2009, and agree to the following:
1) Legally binding greenhouse gas emission reduction obligations
for industrialised countries, as a group, of at least 40 % below
1990 levels by 2020, at least three quarters of which must be met
by domestic action. On top of this, industrialized countries should
be required to pay for their emission permits in order to generate
adequate and predictable funding, in the order of at least €110
billion annually, to support clean energy and other mitigation
activities, forest protection and adaptation in developing
countries.
2) A funding mechanism for ending gross deforestation and
associated emissions in developing countries by 2020. This must be
in addition to the cuts in emissions as described above. Priority
protection should be given to areas with high conservation value
and those areas which are important for the livelihood of
indigenous peoples and forest communities.
3) Mitigation actions for developing countries in the spirit of
gradual widening, deepening and strengthening of the contributions
from members of the UNFCCC, to achieve a 15-30 % deviation from
'business as usual' greenhouse gas emission growth by 2020. Of
these emission reductions all negative and zero-cost measures that
can be achieved without external assistance should be unilaterally
implemented by developing countries themselves, while the rest
should be supported by industrialized countries
Adding up the needs for public financial support for clean
energy, forest protection and adaptation, the total the financial
architecture under the Copenhagen Agreement must generate at least
€110 billion by 2020. Greenpeace urges ASEAN governments to help
pressure industrialized countries to commit to providing the
largest portion of this required financing in the context of the
Copenhagen climate negotiations.