Less than half of respondents in Southeast Asia believe climate change poses ‘serious threat’ to region

Only 49.4 per cent of Southeast Asian respondents said they viewed climate change as “a serious and immediate threat to the wellbeing of (their) country”, compared to 68.8 per cent in 2021, according to the Southeast Asia Climate Outlook: 2023 Survey Report.

“Yet there is an almost equal share of respondents (41.9 per cent) who view the need to monitor climate change,” noted the annual report by ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute. 

“This raises the question of whether the association of immediate problems such as energy shortages and insecurity are with climate impacts, geopolitical problems or domestic issues.”

During his keynote address at a panel discussion on the report on Thursday (Sep 21), Malaysia’s Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad noted that the figures will “no doubt … cause much comment”. 

“The ‘whys’ can be debated - perhaps it simply reflects bread and butter issues being pushed to the fore across Southeast Asia - especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing recovery,” he said. 

Mr Nik added that the survey was a sign that governments, the media and academia must work more urgently than ever to communicate the pressing need for climate action. 

The survey, conducted over four weeks from July to August this year, collected the responses of 2,225 Southeast Asians across all 10 countries in the region. 

Despite a pronounced drop in the level of climate urgency, the report noted worries over food security. 

Seven in 10 respondents expressed considerable concern about food availability and affordability due to climate impacts in the next three years, according to the report. 

More than 40 per cent of the respondents in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines were also concerned over fishery decline caused by ocean warming and unpredictable weather. 

Based on the survey, floods (79.0 per cent), heat waves (51.4 per cent) and droughts (47.6 per cent) were identified as the most pressing climate impacts on agriculture in the region. 

To address global food security issues, the survey found that a majority of the respondents say governments must prioritise the need for climate adaptive farming methods (67.2 per cent), increase in domestic food production (56.6 per cent) and agri-food investments (63.9 per cent). 

“The largest attribution of responsibility for climate change is still skewed towards national governments, suggesting that ASEAN citizens strongly expect their national governments to be at the forefront in articulating clearer climate visions and regulations for their economies,” the survey found.

Despite the expectation of governments to be at the fore of addressing climate issues, a majority of the respondents across the 10 countries claimed to be playing their part by making changes to their lifestyle for the sake of climate action. 

According to the report, 83.7 per cent of Southeast Asian respondents said they took climate action by reducing the use of single-use plastics, with more than half (56.9 per cent) of the respondents also saying they actively reduce their use of electricity. 

Attitudes of respondents tended to be more passive in climate action by following news and sharing information about climate change (75.2 per cent), followed by adopting more sustainable lifestyle options (49.9 per cent).  

With record-breaking temperatures making headlines over the past year, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Wednesday that “humanity has opened the gates to hell”.

He stressed, however, that “we can still limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees,” referring to the target seen as needed to avoid long-term climate catastrophe.

According to data from the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction, Jul 3 this year was the hottest day ever recorded globally. 

The average global temperature reached 17.01 degrees Celsius, surpassing the August 2016 record of 16.92 degrees Celsius.