ASEAN regards climate change issue seriously
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All ten member states joined in Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) were very concerned about the global climate change issue, and mull to set up cooperation with other countries to deal with it, ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan said in Jakarta on Friday.
Speaking in a media briefing on the results of the recent 16th ASEAN Summit held in Hanoi, Vietnam, Surin said that representatives of state members have discussed and drafted the strategies to face the climate change impacts in the region.
"They also expressed the desire to provide contribution to global efforts in tackling the impacts of climate change. So far all of ten state members have done effectively to address climate change issue in the region," Surin said in ASEAN Secretariat premises in Jakarta.
Related to this issue, Surin added some state members have also done effectively in their efforts to handle forest fire problem.
In the near future, ASEAN is eager to set up cooperation with countries joined in European Union (EU), Japan, the United States and Australia to address the climate change issue.
Besides, ASEAN countries also focused on the efforts to preserve the resources of the ocean in the region so as to prevent calamity that could possibly come from the ocean.
"80 percent of population in ASEAN countries were living in areas located less than 100 kilometers from the coastlines. If we treat the ocean inappropriately, they will face the risk from the increasing sea level," Surin said.
