Climate change refers to the human-induced warming of the Earth, due to deforestation and the excessive consumption of resources that result in the production of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Though there are a number of human activities that can cause climate change, urbanisation and development is the largest driving factor in this era of modernisation, digitalisation and fast-paced culture. Singapore has announced earlier this month that 2018 will be the “Year of Climate Action”.

When Donald Trump was elected US president a year ago, some said the end of the Paris climate agreement was nigh. Yet, as the latest round of global climate talks in Bonn, Germany, has shown, the world’s political leaders are more committed to the deal than ever.

Da Nang, Vietnam will play host to the 2017 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Week from November 6-10.APEC is the leading economic forum in the Asia Pacific region with a focus on supporting sustainable economic growth and prosperity of economies within the region. To date, it is the only such intergovernmental grouping in the world with a commitment to reduce trade and investment barriers without requiring its members to enter legally binding obligations.

Some of the world’s biggest palm oil players will meet in Indonesia this week and just like two years ago, the weather will be a hot topic. But instead of the scorch of El Nino, this year the focus is on La Nina. The conference will feature predictions from industry heavyweights Dorab Mistry of Godrej International, LMC International’s Chairman James Fry and Oil World Executive Director Thomas Mielke.

The Earth today is more than 1°C hotter than it was in pre-industrial times, and the terrible symptoms of its fever are already showing. This year alone, back-to-back hurricanes have devastated Caribbean islands, monsoon flooding has displaced tens of millions in South Asia, and fires have raged on nearly every continent.

Southeast Asian nations have become increasingly concerned over environmental issues in recent years as the region has become more polluted due to rapid urbanisation and deforestation. As a whole, the region has to deal with transboundary haze pollution, depletion of natural resources and urban environmental degradation.

Countries that are most in need of more food to feed their impoverished populations tend to be the ones where farmers have the hardest time expanding production.In low-income nations, agricultural productivity rose at a rate of 1.24 percent annually as of 2017, according to an annual study from the Global Harvest Initiative, a research organisation sponsored by Deere & Co., Monsanto, Smithfield Foods and other businesses and nonprofits.

The Southeast Asian region is gifted with rich and diverse renewable energy sources. With the abundance of renewable energy sources in the region, it is timely for ASEAN nations to focus on renewable energy installation amidst diminishing fossil fuel reserves and the growing environmental concerns over fossil fuels and climate change, in particular.

As a serious issue that is gripping the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asia Nations) region, climate change has unwittingly been overlooked by the association.