United States (US) climate expert Kyle Pfeiffer was in Brunei Darussalam to help government officials lay the groundwork for establishing the new ASEAN Centre for Climate Change.
The Pfeiffer US Science Fellow is part of the US Department of State Embassy Science Fellows programme and the Director for the Center for Climate Resilience and Decision Science at Argonne National Laboratory in Illonis.
He was in Brunei from July 25 to August 2 and consulted with officials from the Brunei Climate Change Secretariat, Ministry of Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), and Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, as well as representatives from Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Universiti Teknologi Brunei, the Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies. He also organised three capacity building workshops on decarbonisation, building a climate centre research agenda, and disaster management with experts from the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory (ANL).
He also held in-depth consultations with the Head of the Brunei Climate Change Secretariat Ahmad Zaiemaddien bin Pehinn Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi on the trajectory of the ASEAN Centre for Climate Change, delving into its operational framework and research design, identifying appropriate climate models, and discussing opportunities for the US to provide support.
He also shared his expertise and recommendations with Permanent Secretary of the Department of Energy at the Prime Minister’s Office, who is also Chair of the Executive Committee on Climate Change Haji Azhar bin Haji Yahya, and MFA Director for ASEAN Department Garry Ramlee bin Ibrahim.
He also met with Minister of Development Dato Seri Setia Haji Muhammad Juanda bin Haji Abdul Rashid.
Pfeiffer has been consulting with the Brunei Climate Change Secretariat since March 2021 on the establishment of the ASEAN Center for Climate Change.
“The visit is another example of the United States and Brunei partnering to advance shared goals,” said US Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam Caryn McClelland.
“Addressing climate change is vital to both our nations, and indeed the entire planet. We look forward to the establishment of the ASEAN Center for Climate Change and continued cooperation between the United States and Brunei to build a safer and more sustainable future.”
