A regional centre is crucial to foster collaboration needed to upscale efforts to combat climate change, Brunei Climate Change Secretariat head Ahmad Zaiemaddien bin Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi said.
He also highlighted that some dialogue partners and countries like Germany and the European Union expressed interest to support the regional centre.
Ahmad Zaiemaddien said this during the launch of the Malaysia-Brunei’s ASEAN Climate Change Centre (ACCC) to the world stage at the COP28 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Malaysian Minister of Natural Resources Environment and Climate Change Nik Nazmi bin Nik Ahmad said addressing pressing global challenges which include climate change should be a priority for the ASEAN member states. “I would like to emphasise the need for the ASEAN spirit to explore the opportunity to negotiate issues of common interest as one voice,” said Nik Nazmi.
The event aimed to showcase the leadership of ASEAN in addressing climate change in the region, introduce the ACCC to global audience and highlight the opportunities and benefits of the ACCC for enhancing regional climate action and knowledge sharing.
The event also reiterated that the establishment of ACCC demonstrates ASEAN’s resolute commitment to take decisive action towards tackling climate change which reaffirms in the message ‘In climate change, ASEAN matters.
ACCC proposed and hosted by Brunei, is meant to facilitate regional cooperation and coordination on climate change initiatives in close coordination with ASEAN Working Group on Climate Change (AWGCC), as well as provide policy recommendations on addressing climate change.
