Southeast Asia is one of the world’s most vulnerable regions to the impacts of climate change. At present, climate impacts in the region continue to grow more severe, disproportionately impacting vulnerable communities, and placing millions at risk of being thrown back into extreme poverty.

Southeast Asian nations face the formidable challenge of contending with the ongoing effects of climate change while pursuing lower-carbon pathways and maintaining robust economic growth.

Countries in Southeast Asia are committed to a net-zero future, with 8 out of 10 ASEAN member states at COP26 committing to net-zero targets by 2050. As countries emerge from the pandemic, they have a unique opportunity to harness new green, innovative, and cost-effective approaches to support decarbonization in a wide range of sectors while revitalizing economies.

How can countries in Southeast Asia make the transition to net-zero and achieve climate resilience, while ensuring economic prosperity? ADB’s Southeast Asia Development Symposium (SEADS) 2023, “Imagining a Net-Zero ASEAN,” explored measures governments, communities, and private sector entities can take to progress toward carbon neutrality by adopting new technological solutions, accelerating the availability of finance, and deploying other effective measures.

SEADS builds on the successes of Indonesia’s G20 presidency in 2022, which placed the global transition toward a low-carbon economy at the forefront of the agenda. While the shift to net-zero will not be without costs, the benefits should be manifold, with better environmental quality, stronger resiliency, and new economic opportunities.

For more details, please visit the SEADS 2023 website.

For any questions about the event, please contact us at seads@adb.org.