Lee U-Wen, Today Online 21 Nov 07;
BY 2010, at least 10 million more hectares in South-east Asia will be planted with trees to absorb greenhouse gases. Solar power and other renewable energy sources will also be in vogue.
And countries would collaborate with one another to develop low emission technologies, for the cleaner use of fossil fuels.
These are some scenarios Asean members have committed to realise, as part of two key environment declarations signed yesterday.
Until the Myanmar issue stole the limelight, climate change issues had been set to be one of the highlights of this week's Asean Summit. But such issues are still important.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Asean cannot afford to ignore a serious global problem. "It has a long lead time, but the urgency is much more acutely felt now. The science of climate change is clearer and the signs are much harder to ignore."
The first document signed by the 10 member countries maps out initiatives Asean will undertake. The other reaffirms support for a United Nations climate change conference in Bali next month. To be chaired by Indonesia, the 12-day event will be a platform for 189 countries to find a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.
Mr Lee said: "The meeting in Bali will set out the basis for international negotiations towards a more effective post-2012 agreement.
"Unbridled growth without heed to environmental consequences will ultimately be disastrous," he said. "But neither can countries lightly sacrifice economic growth and higher living standards for our peoples."
The declaration states that climate change policies should not introduce barriers to trade and investment.
Environmental group Greenpeace International welcomed the two declarations, but felt "ambitious targets" should be set so as to create "genuine incentives to formulate policies that will bring massive investments to the region", reported AP.
Such an effort has its difficulties, noted Mr Lee. "How (do we) account for multinational corporation manufacturers and exporters, who produce the emission but export their products for overseas consumption? Who will bear the costs?"
A more workable solution for Asean awaits. "The region is richly endowed with forestry resources and we can focus our efforts to preserve Asean's carbon sinks," said Mr Lee.
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