Aggravation des difficultés économiques et menaces immédiates du changement climatique

Résumé 0

For Laos, 2024 has been a year marked by two major problems: the ongoing and deepening financial crisis and growing environmental concerns. The economic crisis has continued to push many Lao people into very difficult circumstances, with basic living costs being unaffordable to many, with rising prices and high inflation. Difficulties with the national economy have impacted all areas of Lao life, and much of the population is struggling to make ends meet. The country weathered the covid-19 pandemic, in many respects, remarkably well, but the more recent economic problems arriving just after the pandemic are systemic and ongoing, with widespread concerns about Lao debt, especially to China, and what this means for the future. Such concerns about China have seen some recalibrating of relationships from neighbouring countries, with widespread agreement that addressing the economic crisis is a priority and, therefore, efforts to raise foreign currency are important.2024 has also been a year where environmental concerns have come to the foreground, with the country struggling with extreme weather events sporadically through the year and high levels of flooding in the middle of 2024, which caused widespread devastation and even loss of life. This underlines just how vulnerable Laos is to climate change, a theme that is likely to become even more of a feature of commentary on Laos in the coming years.