Climate is a security threat, ASEAN told

The Philippines should use its ASEAN chairmanship to push climate resilience higher on the region’s security agenda while mobilizing financing, technology and international partnerships, environmental leaders said Monday.

Speaking at a climate security forum organized by the Stratbase Institute and German Embassy, Environment Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna and Special Envoy for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said climate threats increasingly cut across ASEAN’s political, economic and security priorities.

“The region should speak with greater coherence in mobilizing the finance, technology, and partnerships needed for a just transition,” Cuna said. “Climate resilience must increasingly become part of our ASEAN’s regional security architecture.”

Cuna said no ASEAN country could tackle climate risks alone, stressing the need for financing, technology, science, data and long-term partnerships.

Stratbase president Victor Andres Manhit likewise called for stronger cooperation with like-minded countries and greater involvement from businesses, civil society and academe in renewable energy, resilient infrastructure and climate-smart investments.

Yulo-Loyzaga said the Philippines had a “unique opportunity” as ASEAN chair to treat climate change as a regional security concern.

The Philippines’ National Security Strategy 2023-2028 already identifies climate change as a threat multiplier and security concern, she noted.

Yulo-Loyzaga also warned of the economic consequences of failing to adapt, citing the National Adaptation Plan’s estimate that climate inaction could cost the Philippines P1.2 trillion to P1.4 trillion this decade.

She called for ASEAN mechanisms covering disaster response, climate change, food security, biodiversity and maritime cooperation to be better connected.

German Ambassador Andreas Pfaffernoschke said climate and security could no longer be addressed separately.

He called for stronger regional early warning systems, conflict-sensitive climate adaptation and greater participation from vulnerable communities, including farmers, fishers, Indigenous peoples, women and young people.

“A community affected by conflict and climate change should not have to choose between humanitarian assistance, peace building and adaptation,” Pfaffernoschke said.