Top envi execs: PH must lead ASEAN climate security push

Philippines urged to lead ASEAN climate security push

Environment Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said the Philippines, as this year's chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), should lead efforts to integrate climate resilience into the region's security agenda. Speaking at a forum on climate security organized by the Stratbase Institute and the German Embassy in Manila, Cuna emphasized that “climate resilience must increasingly become part of our ASEAN’s regional security architecture.”

The forum, held on Monday, brought together Philippine officials and the German ambassador to discuss how the bloc can address the intertwined challenges of climate change and security. Cuna stressed the need for the region to “speak with greater coherence in mobilizing the finance, technology, and partnerships needed for a just transition,” adding that “no ASEAN member state can address these challenges entirely on its own.”

Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, Special Envoy for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, echoed Cuna's call, saying the Philippines had a “unique opportunity” as ASEAN chair to lead the region toward recognizing climate change as part of its security architecture.

The forum also highlighted concrete measures already taken by the Philippines. Yulo-Loyzaga noted that the country incorporated climate security into its National Security Strategy 2023-2028, identifying climate change as a threat multiplier. She also cited the 2025 Declaration of Imminent Disaster Law, which provides local governments with more immediate access to resources to prepare for hydrometeorological hazards. The National Adaptation Plan estimates that the cost of inaction during the current decade could reach between ₱1.2 trillion and ₱1.4 trillion.

Yulo-Loyzaga argued that existing ASEAN mechanisms on disaster response, climate change, food security, biodiversity, and maritime cooperation need to be better connected to create a more integrated approach.

German Ambassador Andreas Pfaffernoschke called for stronger regional cooperation, saying climate change and security could no longer be addressed separately. He pushed for strengthened regional early warning systems that combine climate science with conflict-sensitive analysis, and for climate adaptation projects designed with conflict prevention in mind. Vulnerable communities, including farmers, fishers, indigenous peoples, women, and young people, should have a greater role in policymaking, he said.

Pfaffernoschke also urged ASEAN to strengthen cooperation on shared resources, including transboundary water, marine resources, and food systems, and to improve coordination on disaster response and climate-related displacement. He emphasized that climate finance should be connected with peace-building efforts, noting that “a community affected by conflict and climate change should not have to choose between humanitarian assistance, peace-building, and adaptation.”

Victor Andres Manhit, president of the Stratbase Group, stressed that strategic partnerships “will remain essential to strengthening climate security and resilience.” He said that “for the Philippines — and for all ASEAN member-states — it is therefore crucial that we harness strategic partnerships with like-minded countries.” Manhit added that “our individual and collective ability to withstand these pressures will ultimately depend on how effectively we work across sectors and borders, and how strategically we build and sustain meaningful partnerships.”

Both Cuna and Manhit called for greater participation from the private sector, civil society, and academe in advancing renewable energy, resilient infrastructure, climate-smart production, and nature-positive investments.

The discussions come as the Philippines assumes the ASEAN chairmanship, a role that officials argue provides a platform to shape the region's climate security agenda.