SINGAPORE: Asia is integral to solving the climate crisis and should collaborate regionally for a low-carbon future, Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean said on Tuesday (May 6).
Mr Teo, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security and chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change, was speaking at the opening of Ecosperity Week 2025 at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre.
The annual sustainability event hosted by Temasek will run from May 5 to May 8, with its theme centred on Asia’s role in the fight against climate change.
Mr Teo delivered a keynote address where he noted deepening global uncertainty.
“The international trading order has been upended. Supply chains are being redrawn. Global leadership is in flux, giving rise to a more arbitrary, protectionist, and dangerous world.
“As a result, countries are reassessing their priorities, placing renewed emphasis on economic resilience, self-sufficiency and strategic autonomy,” said Mr Teo, adding that it was not surprising for climate ambitions to take a back seat in such circumstances.
Asia could see losses of up to 41 per cent of gross domestic product by 2100 under a high-emissions scenario, Mr Teo said, citing a report by the Asian Development Bank.
Southeast Asia is set to see major disruptions to food supplies and other institutions due to extreme weather, he added.
“Yet, it is also here, in Asia, that the fight against climate change could be won or lost. Our region is not just vulnerable to the crisis. We are integral to solving it.”
While Asia today accounts for more than half of global carbon emissions, its emissions per capita figure is still lower than those for the US and Europe, he said.
“So, while Asia is expected to account for 90 per cent of the world’s future growth in energy demand, this growth is a necessary consequence of improving people’s lives, reducing poverty and ensuring that underserved communities get access to – for example – reliable electricity.
“The way in which Asia sources for energy – whether from fossil fuels or renewables – and how we decarbonise, will shape not only our own trajectory, but that of the entire world.”
