Asean is disproportionately affected by climate change. This also presents opportunities

IN REMARKS on Asean Day on Aug 8, Asean secretary-general Kao Kim Hourn sounded the alarm bells on climate change, warning that communities in South-east Asia are being threatened by extreme weather events.

Much of the region comprises tropical countries, which makes the effects of climate change – including rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns and increased frequency of extreme weather events – more severe than average.

Already, data indicates that Asean and wider Asia account for 41 per cent of global flooding, caused by rising sea levels and storm surges.

From 2013 to 2023, the wider Asia-Pacific region was hit by 244 major floods, 104 droughts and 101 severe storms, a 2025 Asian Development Bank report noted.

By 2050, it is forecast that the region alone may experience around 60 more days of extreme heat annually, along with some 100 climate disasters that already happen annually in the region, affecting at least an estimated 80 million people.

Yet, amid the understandable gloom about global warming in the region, there are also significant opportunities for governments and businesses looking to tackle the issue.

Opportunities in tackling the climate crisis

This point was rightly emphasised by former US vice-president Al Gore, who spoke in Singapore on Sep 8.

In particular, he highlighted that the Iran crisis has pushed South-east Asia away from fossil fuels. This is boosting investment in renewables in the region, which, in the first half of 2026, grew by 51 per cent from the corresponding period the year before.

Another opportunity comes from climate adaptation. The annual global costs of adaptation are forecast to be between US$280 billion and US$500 billion a year by 2050, said the United Nations.

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But the reality is that businesses have so far captured only a fraction of that value.

The scale of that challenge – and opportunity – has also been flagged by the New Delhi-based Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). It found that global infrastructure experiences around US$845 billion in losses every year because of climate-related disasters.

The CDRI forecasts that the amount of infrastructure that will be built in Asia in the next three decades will be as much as the past 200 years in total. This presents a chance for the region to put in place climate-resilient buildings.

The UN and other global bodies are mobilising multilateral development banks to ensure more money – including that from the private sector – is channelled into tackling the currently huge climate adaptation finance gap.

At the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) to be held in Turkey in November, this will be a key topic for emerging markets, especially for regions most vulnerable to climate risk, such as Asean.

As part of this dialogue, there has been lively debate about extending the number of country partnerships to support just transitions to low-emission, climate-resilient economies in the Global South.

The first of these was agreed at COP26 in Scotland, when South Africa announced a partnership with the European Union, France, Germany, the UK and the US to raise some US$8.5 billion so that the country can protect vulnerable communities while making the transition to renewables.

This model, known as the Just Energy Transition (JET), was subsequently extended to other nations, such as a commitment from funding contributors of US$20 billion for Indonesia, and some US$15.8 billion for Vietnam.

In May this year, the JET community also promised US$2.6 million to fund green projects across South-east Asia.

Asean at the front lines

Another reason for regional optimism lies in the growing signs that the climate agenda is becoming more coordinated and prominent within Asean and the wider Asia-Pacific.

For instance, Australian Climate Minister Chris Bowen will serve as the president of negotiations at the forthcoming COP31 in Turkey.

There is also growing speculation that Beijing may seek to host COP33 in 2028; if that comes to pass, it would be the first time the annual event has been held in Asia since Bali, Indonesia, hosted it in 2007.

One of the reasons for this Chinese enthusiasm is that official statistics assert the country’s carbon dioxide emissions dipped slightly in the second quarter of 2026 from the year before, after having flat-lined over much of the past two years.

At the same time that Asia could become more prominent at the COP summits, Asean is also developing a clearer regional climate change approach.

Malaysia, as 2025 chair of Asean, highlighted at last year’s COP30 the importance of regional cooperation through initiatives such as the Asean Power Grid, which facilitates cross-border renewable energy trade.

Moreover, Indonesia was one of the countries that pledged at COP30 to support a new scheme championed by Brazil to support endangered forests.

The Tropical Forests Forever Facility ultimately seeks to leverage investments of US$125 billion for countries to protect their forests.

In the Philippines, Juan Miguel Cuna, acting secretary of the environment department, is leveraging his country’s 2026 status as Asean chair and calling for a more integrated approach to climate that aligns with Asean’s wider business and political priorities.

This includes enhanced access to tech and scientific data, plus partnerships to boost resilience in the public and corporate sectors.

Yet, despite these reasons for hope, mass decarbonisation will not be easy in Asean. The region’s economic growth is still too largely dependent on the use of fossil fuels, and demand for energy is forecast to double by 2040 to help fuel economic growth.

Acknowledging this fact at 2025’s COP30 summit in Brazil, Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said there are now two choices.

First, locking in what he depicted as the instability, including higher prices, of fossil fuels; second, accelerating a pathway to cheaper, clean energy, as may be beginning to happen.

Much data, therefore, points to Asean increasingly being on the front lines of climate change.

Yet, while this position entails growing risks, there are also expanding opportunities for businesses and governments to step up to the plate and help to mitigate the worst impacts of global warming, while also helping the region adapt to change.

The writer is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics.

This essay is part of New Global Order, a series which explores how the changing world landscape is reshaping business, politics and beyond.