2026 International Industrial Ecology Day (Session 2): Prosperity within planetary boundaries: Industrial ecology for a sustainable ASEAN Community
How can The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) improve living standards and expand economic opportunity while reducing environmental pressures?
Home to more than 680 million people and an economy of approximately US$3.9 trillion, the ASEAN Community has a major role in shaping global sustainability outcomes. Its development choices will influence energy demand, infrastructure, resource use and environmental pressures for decades to come. Industrial ecology offers a systemic perspective on this challenge, connecting the material and energy foundations of development with their implications for climate, biodiversity, pollution, and human wellbeing. This session explores how its methods and insights can support energy decarbonisation, resource efficiency, and a more circular economy across ASEAN's diverse national contexts. Bringing together regional challenges and practical applications, it examines how scientific evidence can help policymakers and business leaders assess trade-offs, identify opportunities, and avoid shifting environmental burdens between sectors and countries. The discussion will consider how regional collaboration can turn this knowledge into pathways that advance prosperity, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability together.
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Chair:
Dr Alessio Miatto
Panellists:
Prof Shabbir Ghewalla, KMUTT, Bangkok, Thailand
Rene Van Berkel, UNEP International Resource Panel
Ms Imelda Bacudo, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Dr Latifahaida Abdul Latif, ASEAN Secretariat
