AEC calls for sustainable, green regional economy

 

“Sustainability Trends: Keys for Green Business in AEC” was held by the Industry Ministry’s Department of Industrial Promotion, the Thailand Environment Institute Foundation, Dow Chemical Thailand Ltd, the Thai-US Creative Partnership, the National Research Council of Thailand, and Krungtep Turakij Media Co. 

Dr Cielito Habito, chief of party for the US Agency for International Development Trade-Related Assistance for Development (TRADE) project at Deloitte Consulting, said the AEC would drive the region’s economy more through intra-trade than competition. 

For example, Thailand imports petroleum and chemicals from the Philippines. After that Thailand produces finished products that it exports back to the Philippines, including motor vehicles, electronics and electrical appliances. 

“We believe that the AEC will create more benefit and global value chains or production networks [among] the member countries than competition,” he said.

Rae Kwon Chung, director of the environment and sustainable development division of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), said Asean members had to be concerned about the tendency to ignore environmental and social costs of production to lower prices. 

He added that when the AEC is fully formed in 2015, it would increase the free flow of goods, services and labour. This will accelerate price competition, triggering a race to the lowest short-term market price, but will also consume more natural resources, affecting the countries’ environments in long term. That is why Asean countries have to concern themselves with the environment by developing green economies.

Setting such priorities would also ensure the region’s sustainable growth in the long term, he said.

He added that this meant developing efficient, high-technology production processes that use fewer natural resources. 

“Green business is the strategy to cope with resource and climate crises and to sustain growth necessary to reduce poverty,” he said.

UNESCAP’s research shows that global green business can be expected to grow by 4 per cent annually. The market involves 1.4 million companies and employs 28 million people. Low-carbon sectors have been growing through the economic crisis and consumers are increasingly interested in purchasing green products. Clean-energy projects surged to a record US$41.8 billion (Bt1.3 trillion) in 2011, sales of organic foods and drinks reached $60 billion in 2010, and sales of sustainable forest projects quadrupled between 2005 and 2007. However, it requires cooperation between the private and public sectors, said Anbumozhi Venkatachalam, capacity building specialist at the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI). 

He added that green business would create job opportunities in the field of low-carbon energy and also support Asean countries’ sustainable growth. But it needed support by governments, which need to establish firm and predictable frameworks for greening all aspects of the economy, with the help of business incentives and reformed tax and subsidy policies. 

“When a country moves towards a green economy, it needs more research and development programmes to shift decisively towards clean technologies, energy and material efficiency and sustainable workplace practices, as well as towards environmental restoration and climate adaptation. That needs support by government. It cannot be done by the private sector alone,” he said. 

He added that ADBI also supported all of the countries in the region undertaking infrastructure projects that develop the use of green energy.

Sophon Pholprasit, director-general of the Department of Industrial Promotion, said the Industry Ministry had a 2012-31 master plan to put Thailand’s industrial sector on a creative and sustainable path to link with the rest of the region. Green industry is also part of this master plan. 

“We believe that we have to cooperate with the private sector to drive the country’s industry to be green within 20 years under this master plan,” he said.