Disputes over voting rules have allowed a small group of countries to block ambition – stalling a global treaty to curb plastic production and pollution.
Finalising ambitious climate targets, being self-reliant for climate funding and striving to uphold human rights aspects of critical minerals are ways the new Asean chair can steer the region to meet low carbon ambitions, amid geopolitical upheaval.
The Trump administration in the US has announced its intention to withdraw from the UN’s landmark climate treaty, alongside 65 other international bodies that “no longer serve American interests”.
The US, which has announced plans to withdraw from the global climate treaty – the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – is more historically responsible for climate change than any other country or group.