1. ASEAN Member States (AMS) met with the United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on 24 August 2023 for the first ASEAN-U.S. Ministerial Dialogue on Environment and Climate Change. The Ministerial Dialogue was co-chaired by Bounkham Vorachit, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Lao PDR and John Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change (SPEC), United States of America (U.S.). Michael Regan, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. provided recorded remarks, and Jane Nishida, Assistant Administrator for the EPA’s Office of International and Tribal Affairs attended the meeting in person.
2. The Dialogue noted the strengthening of ASEAN-US cooperation on the environment and climate, welcoming the first meeting of ASEAN and the U.S. on these topics, and the critical need to work together in support of AMS efforts to achieve ambitious national and regional climate and environment goals. The Meeting acknowledged the increasing climate risks associated with a global temperature exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius, and the need to accelerate efforts to reduce emissions from all sectors, as well as to increase climate adaptation and resilience. The United States encouraged all AMS to pursue ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and long-term strategies aligned with a pathway to limit global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as well as robust National Adaptation Plans.

Download the full statement here.