Climate Governance in Multipolar Asia: Contestation or Cooperation

Abstract

Climate governance in Multipolar Asia is defined by an inherent and challenging duality: the region necessitates unified action to address existential environmental threats, yet its strategic landscape encourages institutional fragmentation and geopolitical rivalry. Asia, which is home to five of the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters, is simultaneously one of the most vulnerable areas globally. This study argues that climate action in the region exists in a dynamic and fragile nexus where targeted financial and technological cooperation mechanisms operate parallel to, but are continuously undermined by, strategic geopolitical contestation. While major Asian powers China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea have launched ambitious green finance and technology transfer programs, core regional institutions, particularly the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), frequently suffer from paralysis stemming from great power competition and consensus-based limitations. Consequently, the climate agenda relies heavily on non-state actors and bilateral initiatives to drive progress. Overall climate resilience is limited not by technical capability or financial capacity, but by persistent conflict over developmental equity, resource control, and strategic influence, suggesting that contestation remains the dominant force shaping the region’s long-term environmental trajectory.

Keywords: Climate Governance, Multipolarity, Southeast Asia, Geopolitics, Green Finance, ASEAN, Technology Transfer