SME responses to climate change in Southeast Asia

Abstract

Climate change is not only one of the great challenges of this century for governments and individuals; it is also a major issue for the millions of micro-, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) that exist across Southeast Asia. The current level of knowledge about the impact of climate change on this sector is low. There are a number of important questions for which more evidence is needed: Do small business operators think climate change is an important issue? How are SMEs in the region attempting to reduce their emissions, if at all? What do they intend to do in future to deal with a warming climate? What obstacles do they face? And what effective assistance and advice are needed for them to deal with the issue? This paper summarizes the results of a large-scale, multi-country quantitative assessment of these issues, focusing on SMEs in the five largest economies in ASEAN. The results are illuminating, and provide some guidelines for policymakers, governments, industry associations and climate change advocates as they grapple with the complex issue of helping SMEs work towards a low-emissions future economy.