delivered by ACB Acting Executive Director Clarissa Arida
20 November 2024
1. The Southeast Asian region is one of the most vulnerable areas to climate change. This impacts the region’s carbon-rich ecosystem and habitats, home to over twenty-five per cent of the planet’s known plant and animal species, and most of all the 670 million people that depend on natural wealth.
2. The CBD COP 16 in Colombia brought to the fore the need for coherent and concerted actions on climate change and biodiversity, and subsequently, between the two conventions. IPBES and IPCC recognised this inextricable link, especially where most biodiversity-oriented actions would most of the time translate to climate change actions.
3. We re-echo the ASEAN Joint Statements at the CBD COP 16 and UNFCCC COP 29, highlighting nature and biodiversity as entry points towards climate action in the region. We join the ASEAN Member States in its call to mobilise financial resources to attain the goals of the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
4. Healthy ecosystems are natural solutions, enhancing resilience against extreme weather events and other serious climate-related challenges. By mainstreaming biodiversity into the climate action plans of development sectors, such as agriculture, health, infrastructure, finance, and business sectors, we can address the interconnected issues our planet faces.
5. The ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity champions these synergies, collaborating with ASEAN Member States and partners to ensure that resources are effectively optimised for climate and biodiversity. The ASEAN Heritage Parks and the ASEAN Green Initiative demonstrate our commitment towards promoting nature as solutions in one of the most vulnerable and disaster-prone regions in the world.
6. As one of the Technical Support Centres in Asia to achieve the global biodiversity targets, we stand ready to play a key role in fostering coordinated and cohesive actions to address the interlinked crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.
Thank you.
