Unlocking Asean’s Climate Potential: Strategies for Enhancing “Nationally Determined Contributions” Coherence and Regional Cooperation

ASEAN Member States have taken divergent approaches to their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), with limited regional coordination and persistent gaps in ambition, transparency, and implementation. While sovereignty concerns often limit integration, this article argues that ASEAN’s flexible governance model can accommodate practical, non-binding mechanisms to strengthen climate coherence. Drawing from a comparative content analysis of six ASEAN NDCs, expert interviews, and a regional survey, the study identifies key deficits in alignment, monitoring, and sectoral strategies. It proposes a regional toolkit of voluntary instruments, including a common indicator dashboard, an ASEAN NDC stocktake, peer-learning platforms, and joint finance windows, to accelerate convergence without compromising national autonomy. These recommendations position ASEAN to respond collectively to the Paris Agreement’s Global Stocktake and align with national development priorities.