Southeast Asia is one of the most vulnerable regions of the world to climate change. In the absence of climate action, the region will be increasingly exposed to hotter temperatures, more destructive storms, greater flooding in some areas, and more droughts in others. Livelihoods and food security will suffer, especially for the poorest populations, if the challenge of rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is not tackled.
This report is an output of an Asian Development Bank (ADB) technical assistance project, “Strengthening Planning Capacity for Low-Carbon Growth in Developing Asia,” cofinanced by the Government of the United Kingdom and the Government of Japan.
From 1990 to 2010, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in Southeast Asia have grown more rapidly than in any other region of the world. This report analyses the potential role the region can play in climate change mitigation, focusing on the five countries of Southeast Asia that collectively account for 90% of regional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam.
The study applies two global dynamic economy–energy–environment models: the World Induced Technical Change Hybrid (WITCH) model, which focuses on detailed representation of energy sector innovation, and the Intertemporal Computable Equilibrium System (ICES), which focuses on more disaggregated depiction of economic sectors. Within the scenarios, the cost of climate change inaction, changes that achieve mitigation, costs of climate action, co-benefits of mitigation responses, and benefits of avoided climate change are assessed.