Go Green with Vince Perez

I somehow got included in the Philippine delegation for the 20^th year Commemorative Summit last June 2 between heads of state of the ten ASEAN countries and the Republic of Korea held on beautiful Jeju island.

The summit was chaired by Oxford-educated 44-year old Thai Prime Minister Abhisit in Thailand’s capacity as the current chair of ASEAN.   Korean President Lee Myung-bak proposed that one way for the region to get out of the current global financial crisis is to invest in sustainability, or as he puts it, to invest in “Green Economy, Green Asia”.  The Philippines highlighted its enactment of its Renewable Energy Act as the most comprehensive renewable legislation in ASEAN, and welcomed investments by Korean companies in this sector.  Cambodia and Laos encouraged Korean investment in their hydropower sector.  Brunei drew attention to regional cooperation in the Heart of Borneo and the Coral Triangle.  Indonesia called on collective ASEAN action on climate change, particularly to mitigate the adverse effect of sea level rise.  One suggestion from this summit was for a common approach by ASEAN countries on a post Kyoto Protocol climate change treaty in time for the Copenhagen UNFCCC summit in December 2009.

After the summit, I had a brief chat with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, whom I escorted as his cabinet minister-in-attendance during his state visit to the Philippines in December 2004.  He had heard I had joined the private sector, and was curious if I had rejoined the Philippine government since I was attending this summit.   In my mind I was also curious myself how I got included in this meeting.  I explained I was helping attract renewable energy investments into the Philippines.

Go Green!