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TACKLING THE DECISIVENESS DEFICIT—HOW TO ENHANCE CLIMATE AMBITION OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC COUNTRIES?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 December 2021

Aneta Nikolova  and
Hannah Ryder
Aneta Nikolova
Affiliation:
United Nations’ Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Bangkok, Thailand
Hannah Ryder*
Affiliation:
Development Reimagined, Beijing, China
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: hannahryder@googlemail.com
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Abstract

This article presents clear evidence that current announced climate pledges by Asia-Pacific countries – even those dependent on climate finance – are insufficient to keep the world within a 1.5°C temperature rise. The article provides analysis explaining why and how countries in the region are not being ambitious enough, and proposes three key steps for how to overcome a “decisiveness” deficit to spur further ambition.

Keywords

climate changeAsia-Pacific regionNationally Determined Contributions (NDC)COVID-19
Type
Notes and Contributions
Information
National Institute Economic Review , Volume 258: MACROECONOMICS OF CLIMATE CHANGE , Autumn 2021 , pp. 83 - 89
Copyright
© National Institute Economic Review 2021

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References

1 Data derived from our world in data, available online at https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-other-greenhouse-gas-emissions#co2-and-greenhouse-gas-emissions-country-profiles (last accessed 15 November 2021).

2 UNDRR/CRED. The human cost of disasters: an overview of the last 20 years (2000–2019). China, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Viet Nam, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are among the top 10 countries in terms in disaster occurrence while in terms of population affected China, India, Philippines, Bangladesh, Thailand, Pakistan and Viet Nam are among the 10 top countries. Report available online at https://www.undrr.org/media/48008/download

3 UN ESCAP, UNEP, 2020. Progress of NDC implementation in Asia-Pacific: methodological framework and preliminary findings.

4 Note, this analysis was completed just before COP26 therefore does not take account of announcements made during COP26 itself.

5 UN ESCAP, UNWomen, UNEP and the greenwerk, 2021. Is 1.5 C within Reach for the Asia-Pacific Region? Ambition and Potential of NDC Commitments of the Asia-Pacific Countries, available online at https://www.unescap.org/kp/2021/15degc-within-reach-asia-pacific-region-ambition-and-potential-ndc-commitments-asia-pacific.

6 IPCC, 2021.

7 The report by the UNFCCC secretariat (IPCC, 2018), finds that aggregate emission reductions communicated in the initial round of NDCs do not fall within the range of least-cost 2 C scenarios defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

8 Weinberger, Nikolova, Holland & Ryder, 2021. How can carbon pricing contribute to post-Covid-19 recovery? Blog available at https://www.unescap.org/blog/how-can-carbon-pricing-contribute-post-covid-19-recovery (last accessed 17 December 2021).

9 IBC Policy Brief: The dilemma of coal phase-out: how to facilitate a transition to cleaner energy sources in Asia-Pacific? 2021, available online at https://knowledge.unasiapacific.org/our-work/knowledge-resources/policy-brief-dilemma-coal-phase-out-how-facilitate-transition-cleaner (last accessed 17 December 2021).

10 IBC Policy Brief: Have countries in the Asia-Pacific region initiated a “green recovery”? What more can be done? 2021, available online at https://knowledge.unasiapacific.org/our-work/knowledge-resources/policy-brief-have-countries-asia-pacific-region-initiated-green

11 IBC Policy Brief: The dilemma of coal phase-out: how to facilitate a transition to cleaner energy sources in Asia-Pacific? 2021, available online at https://knowledge.unasiapacific.org/our-work/knowledge-resources/policy-brief-dilemma-coal-phase-out-how-facilitate-transition-cleaner