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Empowering the People: Towards the Inclusion of a Global Civil Society in a New Climate Change Regime

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Governments’ Responses to Climate Change: Selected Examples From Asia Pacific

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Environment, Security, Development and Peace ((ASEAN,volume 10))

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Abstract

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) acknowledges the global nature of climate change and encourages the widest participation in tackling this issue. However, climate change initiatives are still targeted at the national level, and the disconnect between national and global initiatives have resulted in huge disparities between the speed and effectiveness of policies among signatory countries. This chapter supports the development of a global civil society to encourage a concerted effort between states. More importantly, it recognises that citizens remain at the core of any such effort and calls for the inclusion of ‘green values’ as part of the nation-building exercise.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    UNFCCC, “Cooperation & Support”, at: http://unfccc.int/cooperation_and_support/items/2664.php (11 July 2013).

  2. 2.

    UNFCCC, “Report of the Conference of the Parties on its Seventeenth Session, Held in Durban from 28 November to 11 December 2011”, FCCC/CP/2011/9/Add.1 (15 March 2012), at: http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2011/cop17/eng/09a01.pdf (21 January 2013): 2.

  3. 3.

    UN, “United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change” (1992), FCCC/INFORMAL/84, at: http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/conveng.pdf (21 January 2013): 6.

  4. 4.

    Ibid: 10.

  5. 5.

    ISC, “What is a Sustainable Community?” (2012), at: http://www.iscvt.org/what_we_do/sustainable_community/ (6 July 2013).

  6. 6.

    World Bank, “Foreign Direct Investment, Net Inflows (BoP, Current US$)” (2012), at: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.KLT.DINV.CD.WD/countries?display=default (25 January 2013).

  7. 7.

    World Bank, “Climate Change” (2013), at: http://data.worldbank.org/topic/climate-change?display=default (25 January 2013).

  8. 8.

    World Bank, “Energy & Mining” (2013), at: http://data.worldbank.org/topic/energy-and-mining?display=default (25 January 2013).

  9. 9.

    For more information and a map of existing and proposed sites of dam construction on the Mekong River, see Save the Mekong, “Dams Locations and Status” (8 March 2009), at: http://www.savethemekong.org/issue_detail.php?sid=21 (25 January 2013).

  10. 10.

    International Rivers, “Mekong Mainstream Dams” (2007), at: http://www.internationalrivers.org/campaigns/mekong-mainstream-dams (26 January 2013).

Abbreviations

ASEAN:

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

BoP:

Balance of Payments

CSO:

Civil society Organisation

DES:

Department of Emergency Services

ESI:

Energy Studies Institute

GCS:

Global Civil Society

HAPUA:

Heads of ASEAN Power Utilities/Authorities

IPCC:

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

IRN:

International Rivers Network

ISC:

Institute for Sustainable Communities

MEWR:

Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources

MND:

Ministry of National Development

MRC:

Mekong River Commission

NGO:

Non-governmental organisation

NTS:

Non-traditional security

NUS:

National University of Singapore

OECD:

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

PRIO:

Peace Research Institute Oslo

RSIS:

S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies

UNFCCC:

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

WCED:

World Commission on Environment and Development

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Energy Studies Institute (ESI), National University of Singapore (NUS), 29 Heng Mui Keng Terrace, Block A #10-01, Singapore, 119620, Singapore

    Eulalia Han

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  1. National University of Singapore Energy Studies Institute, Singapore, Singapore

    Nur Azha Putra

  2. Energy Studies Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Eulalia Han

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Han, E. (2014). Empowering the People: Towards the Inclusion of a Global Civil Society in a New Climate Change Regime. In: Azha Putra, N., Han, E. (eds) Governments’ Responses to Climate Change: Selected Examples From Asia Pacific. SpringerBriefs in Environment, Security, Development and Peace(), vol 10. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4451-12-3_6

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