Floods, heatwaves and rainfall-induced landslides are the top concerns in Southeast Asia on climate change with almost half of its citizens – 49.3 per cent – saying there is a lack of political will to mitigate the threats, according to a new report released on Thursday .
However, support for eliminating new coal power plants is much weaker in Myanmar , Brunei , and Indonesia . Floods polled 22.4 per cent as the most serious threat in Southeast Asia followed by heatwaves at 18.1 per cent and rainfall-induced landslides at 12 per cent. For respondents living in rural areas, droughts are one of the top three climate problems . Seah from ISEAS said this was probably because the consequences of drought are more directly felt by those living in the countryside.
Other significant problems identified by respondents are global supply chain disruptions , fewer food exports and degraded farmland . Almost half of Asean respondents believe that their countries’ political parties do not prioritise climate change. Among this group of sceptics, Malaysia , Thailand , Indonesia , and Philippines respondents widely share this view.
Source: Energy Industry News (energyindustrynews.net)