Launch: Climate Change and Democracy: Insights from Asia and the Pacific panel in Seoul, Korea

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) and the Asian Democracy Research Network (ADRN) invites you to the Seoul launch of “Climate Change and Democracy: Insights from Asia and the Pacific”, on Monday, 19 June 2023, from 14:00 – 16:00 KST.

Democracy is on trial in the climate crisis. It is charged with having failed to prevent dangerous climate change. To its critics, the very same features of democracy praised as its defining virtues—popular sovereignty, the accountability and responsiveness of elected officials, public debate, and deliberation—are handicaps that impede effective climate action. However, this trial is not over, and it would not be safe to deliver a verdict at this stage. The case for authoritarian regimes is flawed in both theory and practice and while it is late for preventing the worst impacts of climate change, there is still a window to provide a climate-safe future. Here, it is overwhelmingly democratic nations that are taking the lead. 

This report focuses on democracy and the climate crisis in the Asia-Pacific region. A regional approach based on detailed case studies from ten regional countries has been chosen to contextualize the challenges to democracy arising from this crisis. The Asia-Pacific region is significant for various reasons—it is the most populous in the world; it is a region that will be disproportionately affected by climate change and where many countries are considered highly vulnerable; and, as this report makes clear, it is also a place where there have been vibrant innovations to democratic institutions and practices for dealing with the climate crisis. 

This report investigates two key questions through case studies from Australia, Bhutan, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu:

• How can democracy effectively address the climate crisis? 
• How can democracy effectively address the threats it faces from the climate crisis? 

The hybrid event will be moderated by Dr Sook Jong Lee (Representative, ADRN; Senior Fellow, East Asia Institute).

The event will feature presentations from:

Joo-Cheong Tham, Professor, Melbourne Law School

Niranjan Sahoo. Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation

Marlea P. Muñez, President, Women's Initiatives for Society, Culture, and Environment

Tsuji Yuichiro, Professor, Meiji University

The presentations will be followed by a panel discussion, featuring:

Adhy Aman ,Senior Programme Manager, Asia & the Pacific Regional Programme, International IDEA

Sook Jong Lee, Representative, ADRN; Senior Fellow, East Asia Institute

Taedong Lee, Professor, Yonsei University

Youhyun Lee ,Professor, Ajou University

Leena Rikkilä Tamang, Regional Director, Asia & the Pacific Regional Programme, International IDEA

The full program can be found here.

To register: https://eai-or-kr.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9criOwQ4TXKxzSToH5aXsQ 

The webinar will also be livestreamed on YouTube. 

For registration enquiries, please contact Jenni Sackl [j.sackl@idea.int] or Jisoo Park [jspark@eai.or.kr]