Giving Compass' Take:

• Meg Argyriou explains why Southeast Asian countries need to control their emissions and points to opportunities to improve. 

• How can philanthropy help to find and fund sustainable, environmentally-friendly projects in Southeast Asia? 

• Learn how gender lens impact investing can make a difference in Southeast Asia. 

Although historically, developing countries have contributed the least to climate change, the developing world is now responsible for 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and will be responsible for almost all emissions growth from now on. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Asia, where emissions are growing faster than any other region in the world. Rapid growth in emissions is being driven by the region’s increasing dependence on coal-fired power and deforestation, with 90% of emissions attributed to five countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The Asian Development Bank estimates that to have a reasonable chance of stabilizing global temperature rise below 2 degrees of warming, emissions in Southeast Asia need to be 30% below 2010 levels by 2050. This requires a substantial shift in the emissions trajectory that all Southeast Asia’s major economies are currently on.

Solving climate changes presents many challenges for countries, but can also create many opportunities. With well-educated and affordable work forces, Southeast Asia can position itself to benefit from the global transition to net zero emissions. But understanding what the net zero transition looks like at a country and regional level is a critical first step.

Read the full article about a climate-safe Southeast Asia by Meg Argyriou at AVPN.