Analysis Of The Changing Role Of The US In US-ASEAN Cooperation On Climate Change Since Obama Administration

When Barack Obama took office in 2008,he adopted his signature “Pivot to Asia” strategy and greatly expanded engagement in the region.Under the strategy,he actively conducted cooperation on climate change with ASEAN as a soft dimension to exert influence in the region.However,unlike his predecessor,President Donald Trump is a strong denier of climate change and embraces “America first”.He to a large extent turns inward strategically and withdraws from the effort to combat climate change.It is against this background that the study is conducted to explore the changing role of the US in US-ASEAN cooperation on climate change since Obama administration.The thesis covers the period of the Obama Administration from 2009 to the first month of 2019 under the Trump Administration.By examining the US-ASEAN cooperation on three aspects of climate change,namely,rising sea level,renewable energy and extreme weather conditions,the thesis presents both the ongoing and abandoned programs under the two presidents.The thesis then analyzes reasons behind the change under the two presidents from the stance on climate change of the two presidents,different foreign policy orientations and domestic factors.In the final part,the thesis comes to the conclusion that the US leadership on climate change cooperation with ASEAN has diminished under the Trump administration.On the one hand,the US drastically cuts its climate funding.On the other hand,climate change plays a less important role in the overall foreign policy toward ASEAN under the Trump administration.