Climate Change Mitigation Pathways for Southeast Asia: CO2 Emissions Reduction Policies for the Energy and Transport Sectors
1
Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
2
Climate Action Implementation Facility (CAIF), Berlin 10439, Germany
3
The University of Sydney Business School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
4
Clean Air Asia, Pasig City 1605, Philippines
5
Laboratory of Transport Systems, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 90035-190, Brazil
6
Mobility and International Cooperation, Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, Berlin 10178, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2017, 9(7), 1160; https://doi.org/10.3390/su9071160
Received: 8 May 2017 / Revised: 19 June 2017 / Accepted: 25 June 2017 / Published: 3 July 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Pathways: Transition towards Low-Carbon, Sustainable Cities in Emerging Economies)
As of June 2017, 150 countries have ratified the Paris Climate Agreement. This agreement calls for, among other things, strong reductions in CO2 emissions by 2030 and beyond. This paper reviews the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs) plans of six Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries and compares their current and projected future CO2 levels across sectors, and their stated targets in the context of their economic and demographic situations. This comparison reveals wide variations in the types of targets, with the “ambition” level changing as the perspective changes from total CO2 to CO2/capita and per unit gross domestic product (GDP). We also review national plans as stated in NDCs and find that while there are many types of policies listed, few are quantified and no attempts are made to score individual or groups of policies for their likelihood in achieving stated targets. We conclude that more analysis is needed to better understand the possible impacts of current policies and plans on CO2 emissions, and whether current plans are adequate to hit targets. Considerations on better aligning targets are also provided.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Fulton, L.; Mejia, A.; Arioli, M.; Dematera, K.; Lah, O. Climate Change Mitigation Pathways for Southeast Asia: CO2 Emissions Reduction Policies for the Energy and Transport Sectors. Sustainability 2017, 9, 1160.
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