Food not climate: A man trying to save some belongings and crops in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi in Myanmar’s Kayah state. — AFP
DESPITE record heatwaves, floods and storms across much of South-East Asia in 2024, more people in the region are concerned about bread-and-butter issues such as food security than about climate change, according to a new survey.
The proportion of those who see climate change as a serious and immediate threat dropped to 42.5% in 2024, the latest South-East Asia Climate Outlook Survey by the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute found. This was down from 49.4% in 2023, 45.8% in 2022, and 72.2% in 2021.
This might seem counter-intuitive as 2023 was the hottest year on record globally and 2024 is shaping up to be just as extreme, with devastating floods, storms and heatwaves hitting the region this year.
Earlier in September, Typhoon Yagi killed hundreds as it swept across northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, damaging or destroying crops and livelihoods.
The annual survey of regional climate views also found that nearly 70% of respondents reported experiences of food insecurity, compared with 60% in 2023.
Of the respondents who experienced some level of food insecurity, 42.5% blamed it on rising food prices, while 28.8% attributed it to climate change.
The survey, in its fifth edition since 2020, polled nearly 3,000 people online in all 10 Asean nations between July 10 and Aug 17. Its findings were released on Sept 17.
Despite the growing toll from extreme weather, the findings show that many in the region are more focused on bread-and-butter concerns, said Sharon Seah, survey lead author and coordinator of the Asean Studies Centre and the Climate Change in South-east Asia Programme at the institute.
“Since 2022, the region has been buffeted by geopolitical events from the Russia-Ukraine war, South China Sea and the Israel-Gaza conflict. What this means is higher inflationary pressures, supply chain disruptions, higher energy, food and fertiliser prices, and job insecurity.”
She added: “The very high-level climate concerns demonstrated in 2021 may have given way to the region’s main preoccupation with bread-and-butter issues, even if climate change is real and has immediate impacts on them.”
While climate change has become a growing threat to the region, there is a risk that people are losing sight of the urgency of the problem, said Choi Shing Kwok, the institute’s chief executive, at the media event on Sept 17 announcing the latest survey results.
“Without fail, we have witnessed record-breaking extreme weather every year in almost all inhabitable parts of the world, to the extent that many of us, when we do see these reports, are becoming a bit desensitised. However, here in South-East Asia, at what is arguably the front lines of the climate crisis, we must not lose sight of this threat,” he said.
But there is some good news.
Seah pointed to the positive finding that the proportion of people who regard “climate change as an important issue that deserves to be monitored” increased to 47% in 2024, from 25.7% in 2021 and 41.9% in 2023.
She told The Straits Times: “To me, this is the silent majority who needs to be speaking out and making their concerns known to the governments.”
Looking ahead, nearly 60 % of people in South-East Asia believe their lives will be greatly affected by climate change in the next 10 years, up from 55.7% in 2023. And 73.5% were very concerned or somewhat concerned that a warming world will affect food availability and affordability in the next three years, according to the survey.
Just over half of the survey respondents believe climate change impacts will negatively affect their health. Respondents from the Philippines (71.5%), Vietnam (61.4%) and Thailand (55.8%) showed the greatest concern. In Singapore, 42.1% felt climate change impacts would affect their health.
Floods (70.3%), heatwaves (51.8%), and landslides triggered by heavy rain (49.8%) were the top three most serious climate change impacts in the lived climate experiences of people in the region in 2024.
About two-thirds of those polled regarded prolonged drought and heatwaves
(68.6%) as the main climate impacts affecting their country’s food availability, followed by floods (62.4%). This reflects the El Nino phenomenon in 2023-2024, which caused drought and raised temperatures in the region.
In 2023, floods were viewed as the most serious impact on food availability.
Across Asean, solar energy (69%), hydropower (41.8%) and wind energy (31.8%) remained respondents’ top three clean energy sources that they believe have the greatest potential, the same as in 2023. Nuclear garnered 9.9% of respondents’ votes, up from 6.1% in 2023.
In Singapore, 78.2% of respondents backed solar energy as having the greatest potential, while 20.3% voted for nuclear, perhaps reflecting the Government’s recent steps to investigate nuclear as a serious option for clean energy.
Fewer people in the region said they believe that natural gas is a good temporary replacement for coal while countries develop renewable energy – nearly 37.4% (41.2% in Singapore) in 2024, down from 44.7% in 2023.
Across the region, 70.4% supported a national carbon tax, up from 68% in 2023.
Nearly half (46.8%) felt fossil fuel subsidies should be cut in their country, while 31.8% were unsure and 17.1% disagreed, similar to 2023.
In terms of regional climate leadership, 43.1% said Singapore had the potential to take the top spot, up from 38.7% in 2023. In second spot was Indonesia (12.3%), while Thailand (12.2%) came third.
Half of respondents in Singapore (50.1%) felt their government regarded climate change as an urgent priority, the highest in the region. This is followed by Vietnam (36.7%), Brunei (29.9%), the Philippines (23.8%) and Malaysia (21.1%).
Respondents said they were taking steps to cut greenhouse gas emissions, though the picture is mixed: 71.4% of respondents said they had reduced their use of single-use plastics, down from 83.5% in 2023; 51.5% reduced their electricity use, down from 54.2% in 2023; and 45.9% chose public transport, walking or cycling, up from 42.9% in 2023.
Increasingly, people in the region are relying on social media, messaging apps and specialist climate sites for climate change information.
Mainstream news is still the most popular source at 36%, followed by social media and online influencers or public figures (28.7%) and messaging app channels such as WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal (13.4%).
But in 2023, nearly half chose mainstream media. This was followed by social media and online influencers or public figures (18.1%) and conversations with family, friends and peers (14.8%).
The majority of respondents were under the age of 50. Nearly 40% were aged between 22 and 35, followed by the ages of 36 to 45 (23.6%) and 16 to 21 (15.8%). — The Straits Times/ANN
