‘No country can face this alone’: EU and ASEAN join hands to combat threat of climate-related disasters

No individual nation can face the threat of extreme weather alone, said European Union Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic. 
Even countries that have a lot of response capacity find themselves increasingly in need of assistance from others, he told CNA’s Asia Now on Thursday (Oct 17). 
This comes as the EU is teaming up with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to combat the rising threat of climate-related disasters.
On Thursday, the EU’s Department for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations and ASEAN’s Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management signed an agreement on disaster management. 
“We see the answer to this new environment, to the new reality in strengthened corporations, strengthened mutual solidarity among EU member states, but also with other regions like Southeast Asia,” said Lenarcic, who was at the signing in Indonesia’s Jakarta. 
“We need to strengthen cooperation at the regional level as well as between the regions, because let’s face it, no one, no country alone can face this new reality on its own.”
The agreement covers exchanging knowledge and best practices, deploying experts, and developing training programmes. 
“We have experience in Europe, with floods, with forest fires and so on,” Lenarcic said. 
“But we see there is also a lot of experience in Southeast Asia, in all these fields. So we believe that we should exchange more of our knowledge and experience.”
Tapping experts from both regions will also boost their response capacities, said Lenarcic, adding that training will be organised for the first responders.
“We believe that only together, we can face these new challenges that are greater than ever.”
Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent due to climate change. Both Europe and Southeast Asia face more natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. 
Lenarcic, who also marked the 20th anniversary of the devastating tsunami that hit Indonesia in 2004 during his Jakarta visit, highlighted the urgent need for effective climate strategies. 
“We need to identify, for instance, where the danger lies with regard to the tropical typhoons (and) storms, where there is increased danger of devastating floods and landslides, and we have to act accordingly,” he added. 
“The most important lesson is that you cannot sit and wait until the disaster strikes, because then it may already be too late.”
He said the partnership between the EU and ASEAN will focus on meeting immediate needs, while building long-term resilience against future threats.
During the interview, Lenarcic stressed the importance of investing more in prevention and preparedness efforts. 
“We cannot only focus on response, meaning we cannot only act once disaster already happens, because with this new intensity and frequency of disasters, we would soon be overwhelmed if we only focus on response,” he added.