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ASEAN Summit opens under cloud of smog
Indonesia opens the 43rd ASEAN Summit on Tuesday under the cover of some of the worst air pollution in the world, as Southeast Asian leaders and their external partners meet in Jakarta bearing some signs of progress but with little to assuage immediate climate concerns.
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Haze caused by air pollution shrouds skyscrapers in Jakarta on Sept. 5, 2023, as seen from the vicinity of the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) in South Jakarta. Jakarta is hosting the 43rd ASEAN Summit where leaders of the bloc and its dialogue partners are convening for high-level meetings from Sept. 5 to 7. (JP/A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil)
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ndonesia opens the 43rd ASEAN Summit on Tuesday under the cover of some of the worst air pollution in the world, as Southeast Asian leaders and their external partners meet in Jakarta bearing some signs of progress but with little to assuage climate concerns.
As the 2023 ASEAN chair, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration has been promoting long-term reforms to make the bloc more adaptable and to spur greater economic growth and integration – efforts summarized by this year’s official slogan, “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth”.
The chairmanship culminates with the hosting of the ASEAN Summit and related meetings from Tuesday to Thursday, with a plan to launch ASEAN’s next long-term road map, known as the Concord IV, as well as dozens of other initiatives.
The summit comes amid warnings that the world’s success in curbing global warming will depend on a massive increase in clean energy investment in developing countries.
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi told The Jakarta Post in an interview last week that the group would discuss ways to develop an environmentally friendly economy.
“Whether we label it climate change or the green economy, at the end of the day it is about energy transformation,” Retno said in Jakarta on Aug. 30.
The summit would also aim to launch blue economy initiatives, she said, a “new source” of sustainable development for the region. “There are ASEAN countries on the mainland but also in the archipelago, so the seas matter a lot to us.”
