Climate change news roundup from APAC region

For PropertyGuru’s news roundup, we focus on climate change stories. A study revealed that only around a third of Hongkongers have said they trust the government to lead the fight against the climate crisis. In other updates, the Philippines hosted the Fourth Meeting of the Board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, marking a key milestone in the country’s commitment to climate resilience. Lastly, environmental leaders from across the Mekong sub-region noted that the effects of climate change may have increased the risk of elevated hotspot activities and transboundary smoke haze.

Only 35 percent of Hongkongers trust the gov’t to lead the fight against the climate crisis, a study finds

Only around a third of Hongkongers have said they trust the government to lead the fight against the climate crisis, a study has found, as a green group urged greater transparency on the city’s progress towards its target of carbon neutrality by 2050.

The findings emerged from a four-stage study commissioned by the environmental organisation Greenpeace and conducted by the Asian Energy Studies Centre at Hong Kong Baptist University.

The polls also found that while 78 percent of Hongkongers surveyed believed it was the government’s responsibility to take the lead on combating the climate crisis, followed by energy companies and the general public, only 35 percent trusted the government to do so.

“Most Hong Kong citizens, they do not believe… that the Hong Kong government could help to combat climate change in Hong Kong,” Darren Cheung from the Asian Research Studies Centre, said during a video call with HKFP.

Cheung added that the discrepancy between what people said they wanted from the government and their faith in it “implies that the current government policy – although people say that they support what the government is doing – it is not good enough… they think the government should do more.”

PH hosts 4th LDF board meeting, advancing climate resilience efforts

The Philippines hosted the Fourth Meeting of the Board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, marking a key milestone in the country’s commitment to climate resilience.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga welcomed the delegates at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City on 2nd December. She emphasized the importance of the meeting in advancing global climate resilience and addressing the urgent needs of vulnerable nations.

“It is a moment of pride for the Philippines to host this fourth meeting of the Board, and the first in our country since our selection as the host country of the Board. This meeting is particularly significant as it comes at an important stage in the Fund’s establishment and operationalization,” Loyzaga said during her opening remarks. She highlighted that the meeting underscores the Philippines’ commitment to supporting climate-vulnerable nations while strengthening its leadership in the global fight against climate change.

Loyzaga pointed to recent steps that demonstrate the country’s dedication, including the signing of Republic Act No. 12019 (Loss and Damage Fund Board Act) by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in August, granting juridical personality and legal capacity to the Board. She also mentioned the signing of the Host Country Agreement (HCA) during the recent COP29 (United Nations Climate Change Conference) in Baku, Azerbaijan.

“The decades-long journey to establishing the Fund was long fought and firmly grounded in the quest for resilience by the most vulnerable countries,” she said in PNA, adding that as a climate-vulnerable nation, the Philippines has a personal stake in the success of the Fund.

Mekong leaders warn climate change ‘driving hotspots, haze’

Environmental leaders from across the Mekong sub-region have reiterated their joint commitment to achieving ambitious hotspot and haze reduction targets while acknowledging that the region faces many challenges.

The 13th Meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution in the Mekong Sub-Region was held in Siem Reap province on 4th December.

The Phnom Penh Post reports that attendees included high-level representatives from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, along with the deputy secretary-general of ASEAN for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community. The event was chaired by San Vanty, permanent secretary of state at the Cambodian Ministry of Environment.

The meeting participants recalled that under the Chiang Rai 2017 Plan of Action, the hotspot reduction target of 35 percent was set for 2024, with 40 percent approved for 2025.

They acknowledged that the figures were ambitious when compared to the targets set for earlier years, and agreed in principle that new target numbers should be discussed at next year’s meeting, scheduled to be held in Laos.

In addition, the participants noted that the effects of climate change, such as more frequent drought and other extreme weather events, may have increased the risk of elevated hotspot activities and transboundary smoke haze occurrence since 2019.

The Property Report editors wrote this article. For more information, email: [email protected].