Climate security in Southeast Asia: navigating concepts, approaches and practices

Climate security is gaining significant traction in global discourses on how to respond urgently to the challenges brought on by climate change. In Southeast Asia, however, the term ‘climate security’ raises concerns about the unintended consequences of securitisation to frame the complex and cross-cutting impact of climate change. This paper examines these concerns against the evolving discourses on climate security. It argues that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN’s) reservations about invoking the language of security on climate change are underpinned by concerns about sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs. The paper also argues that ASEAN’s hesitance to adopt ‘climate security’ downplays the critical need to build regional capacity for anticipatory climate action, including the ability to respond to potential climate-induced conflicts.