Charting a shared future: Pathways for a resilient ASEAN

Resilience is no longer a hedge – it’s the new currency of power. As great-power rivalry reshapes trade routes, supply chains and investment flows, nations that adapt fastest will be the ones that turn disruption into advantage. With the Philippines chairing Asean in 2026, how will the country and the wider region navigate this new era? What does real resilience – economic, strategic, institutional – look like when the ground keeps shifting beneath you?

‍

This fireside chat explores how the Philippines and its Asean neighbours can build that resilience under pressure. From reconfigured supply chains to the energy transition and mobilising capital, how are businesses responding on the ground? Has geopolitics hindered the pace of the transition, or heightened its urgency? And what does resilience look like not just for governments and companies, but for the communities living through the disruption?

With up to 35 per cent of regional GDP exposed to climate and nature-related risks, formalising a concrete mitigation and adaptation strategy is now an urgent priority for Asean. On both fronts, however, capital isn’t following the need. Regional emissions are projected to keep climbing towards 2050, and adaptation lags further still, drawing only a small share of overall climate finance. Sustainable finance taxonomies remain inconsistent across member states, and climate governance too often stops at the national level, disconnected from local decision-making.  

‍

This opening plenary examines the Philippines' role – especially in its year as Asean chair – in scaling the capital needed and strengthening the bankability of climate mitigation and adaptation projects across the region. How can financial reporting standards and taxonomies be aligned regionally while still accounting for local market differences? What will it take to strengthen climate governance across national, regional and local levels of government? And how do national and regional strategies move local communities from implementers to genuine partners in shaping them?

The Philippines stands at a critical juncture in its energy transition, with rising power demand, energy security concerns, and climate commitments driving the urgent need to scale clean energy solutions. With strong potential in solar, wind, and geothermal, the country has an opportunity to rapidly increase renewable energy adoption—provided it can address persistent barriers in grid infrastructure, project development, and policy execution. At the same time, the electrification of transport is emerging as a key lever to reduce emissions and reshape energy demand, linking the power and mobility transitions more closely than ever.

‍

This session brings together policymakers, investors, utilities, and industry leaders to explore how the Philippines can accelerate a just and resilient energy transition. Discussions will examine how to unlock financing at scale, from blended finance to private capital mobilisation, and how to de-risk renewable energy projects to speed up deployment. The panel will also assess the role of electric mobility in driving demand for clean power, the infrastructure needed to support EV uptake, and how integrated planning across power and transport systems can future-proof the country’s energy landscape.

In fast-growing economies such as the Philippines, tourism is pitched as a bridge between preservation and profit – a platform to channel natural and cultural capital for economic growth. Yet friction is unavoidable: mass arrivals drive up carbon emissions, inflate cost of living and often displace the very communities whose heritage are being monetised. Are current sustainable tourism models a viable blueprint for equitable development, or are they a structural contradiction that masks environmental degradation and economic inequality?

‍

This off-the-record plenary session will debate whether market-driven strategies and policies can truly reconcile growth with conservation, or if countries need to rethink current approaches to tourism-driven economies. ‍‍

‍

‍Note: This session is under Chatham House Rule and will be strictly off-the-record and not for media coverage.

The Middle East conflict not only revealed structural weaknesses in the global energy system but agricultural supply chains as well, with Asean highly exposed to price and supply volatility. Philippines is especially vulnerable due to its reliance on exported fertilisers and with over 40 per cent of the population facing moderate to severe food insecurity. Securing food resilience in an era of geopolitical shocks and growing climate risks is thus an immediate regional imperative.

‍

This session will tackle key questions on securing sustainable agriculture and food security, including: How do we build responsive agricultural systems which can respond to sudden crises while adapting to long-term needs? Which areas boast the highest potential to expand intra-Asean trade on agricultural goods? And how do we modernise and raise productivity of agricultural practices while ensuring local farmers are uplifted and empowered in the process?

Regional economies are coming under pressure from increasing resource depletion, unsustainable consumption and inefficient production – prompting the need to shift from a linear to circular economic model. The EU Circular Economy Act, a proposal to create common rules across the European single market, could serve as inspiration for an Asean circular framework. However, questions remain over how regulators navigate contextual differences while implementing solutions within the non-binding nature of Asean.

‍

This session convenes leading ecosystem players, exploring questions such as: Is a regional circular framework within Asean feasible? What are the financial, regulatory and organisational barriers preventing the shift from linear to circular production? And how do we look beyond environmental factors to incorporate trade, technology and finance – key to scaling circular solutions?