Vietnam has seen the greatest rise in the proportion of electricitygenerated through renew-ables in ASEAN, according to a report releasedby a British accounting body on June 3.
The Institute ofChartered Accountants in England and Wales's latest Economic Insightsaid ASEAN's renewable generation capacity had grown by 83 percentbetween 2002 and 2012, led by Vietnam which had added 34 billion kWh ofhydropower.
However, the nation still faced green challenges asit continued its transition from an agrarian to a manufacturing economy.Large inflows of foreign investment would increase the industry'soutput in the medium term.
Last year had marked a positiveturning point in climate change where carbon dioxide emissions remainedconstant for the first time while world output grew.
Environmentaldegradation generally accompanied economic development up to a point,after which further development relieved environmental pressure.
Figures showed that globally, the point may have been reached where advanced economies had moved to sustained clean growth.
Thesituation was less bright in ASEAN, where most economies had notreached a stage where the environmental impact of economic activitystarted to decrease. With the exception of Singapore, which had seen asustained drop in emissions since 1994, other countries like Indonesia,Malaysia, and the Philippines were only seeing periodic lower emissionswhen GDP shrank.
An encouraging sign for Vietnam was its highproportion of electricity generated through renewables instead of fossilfuels, with hydropower accounting for almost half of its entireelectricity generation.
Vietnam was leading in this area, while its ASEAN counterparts still lagged behind in renewable generation capacity.
Overthe last decade, environmental policy across ASEAN had been higher onthe agenda, but progress remained difficult. While environmental policyin Singapore had been relatively successful, plans in other ASEANnations such as the Philippines and Thailand had been more modest.
Asthe global economy moved towards cleaner growth, ASEAN needed to keeppace. Across the region, lower environmental impact from its developmentwould make it a more desirable place for individuals and firms to moveto.
Scott Corfe, ICAEW economic advisor and Cebr associatedirector, said, "Manufacturing activities have a strong effect onemissions, since they produce more than three times the carbon emissions- per 1,000 USD of output - than service activities. While ASEAN hasseen a positive move towards cleaner manufactures, this is undermined bya growing dependence on commodities as China's expansion has keptdemand strong.
"It will be helpful for Vietnam to diversify itsexports away from commodities and consider cleaner manufactures. Thiswill reduce its reliance on China as an export market for coal in casethe Asian giant's economy slows and also help reduce Vietnam'senvironmental footprint."
Mark Billington, regional director,ICAEW South East Asia, said: "Much more is needed to translateenvironmental policies into reality, including a stronger regulatoryenvironment, political will and funding. Commodity-rich ASEAN nationslike Indonesia and Vietnam may be attracted by the short-term gains inGDP that can be reaped at the expense of natural capital stocks – forexample, the natural wealth locked in resources such as forests.
"Oneway to ensure more sustainable growth is to consider natural capitalaccounting. By calculating the value of critical assets, their properuse can be measured and managed to ensure long-term sustainability forboth organisations and for the environment."
Economic Insight:South East Asia, produced quarterly for ICAEW by Cebr, its partner andeconomic forecaster, provides its 144,000 members with a currentsnapshot of the region's economic performance.
It undertakes areview of Southeast Asian economies, with a focus on Indonesia,Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.-VNA
The Institute ofChartered Accountants in England and Wales's latest Economic Insightsaid ASEAN's renewable generation capacity had grown by 83 percentbetween 2002 and 2012, led by Vietnam which had added 34 billion kWh ofhydropower.
However, the nation still faced green challenges asit continued its transition from an agrarian to a manufacturing economy.Large inflows of foreign investment would increase the industry'soutput in the medium term.
Last year had marked a positiveturning point in climate change where carbon dioxide emissions remainedconstant for the first time while world output grew.
Environmentaldegradation generally accompanied economic development up to a point,after which further development relieved environmental pressure.
Figures showed that globally, the point may have been reached where advanced economies had moved to sustained clean growth.
Thesituation was less bright in ASEAN, where most economies had notreached a stage where the environmental impact of economic activitystarted to decrease. With the exception of Singapore, which had seen asustained drop in emissions since 1994, other countries like Indonesia,Malaysia, and the Philippines were only seeing periodic lower emissionswhen GDP shrank.
An encouraging sign for Vietnam was its highproportion of electricity generated through renewables instead of fossilfuels, with hydropower accounting for almost half of its entireelectricity generation.
Vietnam was leading in this area, while its ASEAN counterparts still lagged behind in renewable generation capacity.
Overthe last decade, environmental policy across ASEAN had been higher onthe agenda, but progress remained difficult. While environmental policyin Singapore had been relatively successful, plans in other ASEANnations such as the Philippines and Thailand had been more modest.
Asthe global economy moved towards cleaner growth, ASEAN needed to keeppace. Across the region, lower environmental impact from its developmentwould make it a more desirable place for individuals and firms to moveto.
Scott Corfe, ICAEW economic advisor and Cebr associatedirector, said, "Manufacturing activities have a strong effect onemissions, since they produce more than three times the carbon emissions- per 1,000 USD of output - than service activities. While ASEAN hasseen a positive move towards cleaner manufactures, this is undermined bya growing dependence on commodities as China's expansion has keptdemand strong.
"It will be helpful for Vietnam to diversify itsexports away from commodities and consider cleaner manufactures. Thiswill reduce its reliance on China as an export market for coal in casethe Asian giant's economy slows and also help reduce Vietnam'senvironmental footprint."
Mark Billington, regional director,ICAEW South East Asia, said: "Much more is needed to translateenvironmental policies into reality, including a stronger regulatoryenvironment, political will and funding. Commodity-rich ASEAN nationslike Indonesia and Vietnam may be attracted by the short-term gains inGDP that can be reaped at the expense of natural capital stocks – forexample, the natural wealth locked in resources such as forests.
"Oneway to ensure more sustainable growth is to consider natural capitalaccounting. By calculating the value of critical assets, their properuse can be measured and managed to ensure long-term sustainability forboth organisations and for the environment."
Economic Insight:South East Asia, produced quarterly for ICAEW by Cebr, its partner andeconomic forecaster, provides its 144,000 members with a currentsnapshot of the region's economic performance.
It undertakes areview of Southeast Asian economies, with a focus on Indonesia,Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.-VNA
