Inclusive growth and climate change mitigation programs and policies in the ASEAN : fiscal implications

Addressing urgent global climate change and inequality issues has been a major challenge for the ten AMS (ASEAN Member countries) given the diversity and local agendas with divergent political, economic, and social objectives. While regional policy frameworks prioritise harmonisation and inter-regional integration outcomes over national inequality and climate change policy goals, governments typically address the latter through discretionary policy add-ons that lead to policy fragmentation and competing fiscal goals that interfere with intermediate development plans. To achieve the aspired inequality outcomes (Regional Framework and Action Plan, ASEAN Declaration, 2013) and the ratified global climate targets (Paris Treaty 2015) simultaneously, such policy outcomes and commitments to collaborative policy action will need to be aligned within an integrated policy framework at the regional or global level, and externalities of economic activity internalised into a sustainable and inclusive fiscal model. Focusing on policy design, integration and evaluation aspects, this paper examines policy-relevant literature for evidence of existing programs and policies devised to mitigate climate change and inequality issues at the regional and policy levels within the ASEAN