Lowering costs

"Through cooperation with ASEAN, the accelerated promotion of Chinese clean energy technologies leads to continuous price declines due to scale effects, making clean energy more affordable globally and effectively lowering the threshold for global green transition," she said.

"This path of lowering costs through cooperation to drive mass adoption is a unique advantage of developing countries in driving the global energy transition."

Tjhin, from Indonesia's Gentala Institute, said the emphasis and arrangements for green economic cooperation in CAFTA 3.0 serve as a strategic counterweight to the pressures of unilateralism in global climate governance.

"CAFTA 3.0 provides a more constructive contrast. Its green economy program is not about punishment or protectionism; it is about building capacity and mutual benefit. Aside from the reaffirmation of WTO principles, CAFTA 3.0 can build a constructive model for South-South cooperation that rejects unilateral coercion and encourages equitable collaboration toward green transition," she emphasized.

Chen said the recent uncertainty in US climate policy poses significant risks to global climate governance, while the green cooperation framework established by China and ASEAN at the regional level actually plays a stabilizing role in the global climate governance system.

"For a long time, the global climate governance framework has been primarily designed by developed countries, with developing countries often being passive rule-takers. CAFTA 3.0 — led by a group of developing countries — has achieved regional mutual recognition of green standards for the first time," he highlighted.

"Unlike the Western 'carbon tax + technology monopoly' approach, the China-ASEAN green cooperation model shows that through means of sharing technology, jointly building industry capacity, and aligning standards, a low-carbon shift can be achieved without sacrificing growth," Chen said. "Global South countries can indeed navigate a 'development and transition' green path through mutually beneficial cooperation."

Agencies contributed to this story.