Asia & Pacific
ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn looks on during the ASEAN Trilateral Meeting with Norway on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Pasay, Metro Manila on July 22, 2026. (AFP/Pool/Rolex dela Pena)
With extreme weather and natural disasters becoming more common across Southeast Asian nations, ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn has sounded the alarm over the “urgent” challenge posed by climate change, which he said threatened the region’s safety, food security and economic resilience.In his opening remarks at the ASEAN Day celebrations at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta on Saturday, Kao said climate change was among the challenges that increasingly transcended national borders, as its effects were being felt across the region.
“Across Southeast Asia, communities are experiencing more frequent floods, droughts and extreme weather,” Kao said, as quoted from the video released by the ASEAN Secretariat.
He noted that the disasters continue to “threaten homes and livelihoods, disrupt agriculture and food security, and test the resilience of our communities and economies”. The widespread nature of these disasters, he said, underscored the need for stronger regional cooperation, as no ASEAN member state can address the climate crisis by itself.
