AIT was host to the Regional Forum on Climate Change (RFCC) along with
French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development, ASEAN
Secretariat, and the European Union (EU) from 1-3 July 2015, where 400
participants from 20 countries prepared a message for COP21.
The final message read out by the AIT President Prof. Worsak
Kanok-Nukulchai of the concluding day of the Conference made a “Final
Call” stating:"COP21 can be a turning point in the history of
humanity."
RFCC was organized with the twin objectives of creating a platform for
engaging a variety of stakeholders from the ASEAN region in discussions
on climate change related agenda in order to ease the translation of
science into practice and policy, and to assist negotiators, policy
makers and high-level advisers from ASEAN to benefit from the results
of contemporary scientific research to carve out climate change related
policies for the long term, as well as to offer ASEAN negotiators a
venue to build positions of increased ambition prior to the COP
21.
A press conference organized by AIT and the Embassy of France in
Thailand on 2 December 2015 stressed the urgency of signing a climate
deal at Paris. RFCC and the press conference received widespread global
coverage.
Further, at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)’s event
organized on 2 December 2015 at Paris called “UNEP/SEAN - Capacity
Building through Climate Change Officials Networking,” Prof. Mukand
Singh Babel of AIT presented the key messages from RFCC including the
importance of a region-specific climate knowledge base for Asia; the
need for cross-sectoral approaches to adaptation; the need for
incremental as well as transformational changes; and the importance of
citizen engagement.
AIT’s Dr. Shobhakar Dhakal, who is the Coordinating Lead Author of the
Chapter on Human Settlements, Infrastructure and Space Planning in the
latest IPCC Report was widely quoted for his views on COP21. His
interview was carried out in the prestigious publication 'The
Economist' in its edition on 28 November 2015 in an article titled
“Climate diplomacy in South-East Asia: Best-laid plans.” This article
was also published in The Financial Express (India).
The article said: Shobhakar Dhakal from the Asian Institute of
Technology in Thailand says the region’s proposed decarbonisation plans
are only a starting point for negotiations. For now they will do little
to help limit a rise in global temperatures to two degrees Celsius,
which the scientific consensus says is needed to prevent the worst
effects of climate change. South-East Asia’s low-lying cities and
typhoon-battered islands would be greatly at risk from runaway warming.
The time to be making difficult decisions—and stick to them—is now.
Links:
The Economist: http://goo.gl/TveJfd
IISD Report : http://goo.gl/SZUMW9
AIT: http://goo.gl/r7VZF3
AIT: http://goo.gl/MPCZbY
The article quoting Dr. Shobhakar
Dhakal.