The 1st ASCC Research and Development Forum “Building Climate Change Data Management Capacities and Enhancing Access to Climate Finance”

JAKARTA, 18 March 2022 – As one of the activities of the JAIF project ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Research and Development Platforms, the 1st ASCC Research and Development Forum “Building Climate Change Data Management Capacities and Enhancing Access to Climate Finance” was organised by the ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC) on 18 March 2022. The Climate Change Platform – one of the three platforms set up by ASEC with JAIF support – is expected to inform the development of four quarterly trend reports and six bi-monthly policy briefs. The Forum was a direct input to this process and was opened by H.E. Ekkaphab Phanthavong, Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community. He regarded the Forum as a timely opportunity to reflect and strategise how ASEAN can further raise its commitments to the global and regional climate agenda, given that the road towards carbon neutrality by 2050 is a daunting task and requires extensive planning and collaborative efforts within and outside ASEAN.

Following the DSG’s welcome remarks, Naoki Minamiguchi, JMT Director, delivered opening remarks, emphasizing the need for forging practical policy tools that may be derived from policy recommendations and allow practitioners and experts to answer climate change-related questions and fill in critical information gaps in order to better inform decision-makers. Billy Sumuan, JMT Senior Programme Officer, also attended the online forum as he coordinates with ASEC for the JAIF project.