INTRODUCTION

Climate change is not only one of the great challenges of this century for governments and individuals; it is also a major issue for the millions of micro-, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) that exist across Southeast Asia.

The current level of knowledge about the impact of climate change on this sector is low. There are a number of important questions for which more evidence is needed: Do small business operators think climate change is an important issue? How are SMEs in the region attempting to reduce their emissions, if at all? What do they intend to do in future to deal with a warming climate? What obstacles do they face? And what effective assistance and advice are needed for them to deal with the issue?

This paper summarizes the results of a large-scale, multi-country quantitative assessment of these issues, focusing on SMEs in the five largest economies in ASEAN. The results are illuminating, and provide some guidelines for policymakers, governments, industry associations and climate change advocates as they grapple with the complex issue of helping SMEs work towards a low-emissions future economy.

CLIMATE CHANGE

As Table 1 indicates, every nation in ASEAN already contributes to some extent to the continuing global output of GHG-inducing emissions, such as CO2. Whilst some member states (such as Brunei and Cambodia) produce very low levels, others such as Indonesia are already amongst the biggest generators of emissions globally.

Climate change is already having a tangible impact on the region, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). A number of physical changes are already occurring in the climate and weather patterns of Southeast Asia. These include alterations to monsoon patterns; more heatwaves, cyclonic activity and droughts; rising sea levels; and more precipitation and flooding. The IPCC predicts that as temperatures continue to rise, these problems will be exacerbated, noting that “every additional 0.5°C of global warming causes clearly discernible increases in the intensity and frequency of hot extremes, including heatwaves, and heavy precipitation … There will be an increasing occurrence of some extreme events unprecedented in the observational record with additional global warming…” (IPCC 2021, p. SPM-19). Finally, sea level rises are also “virtually certain” and will threaten major metropolitan regions such as those in Manila, Bangkok and Jakarta (ASEAN 2021).