ASEAN Climate Week 2026 - Ms Grace Fu

1.      Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, a very good afternoon to all of you. It is a privilege to join you here for the ASEAN Climate Week 2026, and I would like to begin by expressing my gratitude to the Philippines for proceeding with this event notwithstanding the challenges. We need to come together at such a critical moment for our region.

The Energy Crisis and Its Shadow Over Global Climate Action

2.      When we began the year, there was cause for optimism. The global economy was showing signs of recovery, and there was some momentum from COP-30 in Belém and the 7^th United Nations Environment Assembly to advance climate action and environmental protection.

3.      But that optimism has since been tempered by a sobering reality. The ongoing energy crisis has cast a shadow over global climate commitments. We are now faced with pressures arising from energy security and rising costs, which could potentially lead to stagflation. Some countries have found themselves revisiting commitments made earlier such as transiting away from coal, delaying the retirement of fossil fuel infrastructure, and in some cases, backsliding on their national climate targets.

4.      These challenges can be viewed in two ways. It can be seen as a reasonable basis to take a pause on climate action. Or it can be seized as an opportunity to accelerate green growth, and build systems that are cleaner, more resilient, and less vulnerable to geopolitical shocks. The two ways are not mutually exclusive, but pivoting towards renewables can help to enhance long-term energy security.

5.      The choices that we make in the coming months will shape the trajectory of global climate action for decades.

What This Means for ASEAN

6.      ASEAN is not immune to climate change. Our region is not among the largest emitters of greenhouse gases globally, but we experience the impacts of climate change fully.

7.      The lived experience of our peoples tells us this. Last year was one of the hottest years on record, with Southeast Asia experiencing prolonged heatwaves, more intense monsoons, rising sea levels that inundated coastlines, and disruptions to agricultural systems that millions in the region depend upon. These were the realities of our farmers, our fishermen, our urban communities, and our vulnerable populations.

8.      Hotter and drier weather has also increased the risk of transboundary haze, as seen in the Mekong region now. The outlook for this year by the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre gives us reason for heightened vigilance. Haze does not respect national borders, and its consequences — on public health, on aviation, on daily life — are borne collectively across our region. ASEAN Member States will need to maintain a high state of readiness and collectively respond to developments.

9.      While reducing emissions remains essential, we must place equal urgency on adaptation and build the resilience of our communities, our infrastructure, and our economies to withstand the changes that are underway. For ASEAN, adaptation is a strategic imperative.

The Philippines: Setting the Momentum for ASEAN

10.    It is therefore both timely and fitting that the Philippines, as the ASEAN Chair for 2026, has convened this Climate Week. Singapore thanks the Philippines for its leadership in advancing this. This gathering puts the spotlight on the regional climate issues that demand our collective attention. ASEAN must not be passive in global climate developments. Instead, we should shape the outcomes that affect our region.

11.    There is much on the agenda that deserves our serious engagement. Some key priorities include clean energy, carbon markets, and climate resilience.

• Advancing the ASEAN Power Grid is one of the most consequential opportunities before us. It is a chance to build a connected, clean energy infrastructure that can serve the long-term energy security of our entire region.

• Equally important are efforts to strengthen capital markets to channel the financing that permit green transitions.

  • On that note, Singapore is glad to have achieved substantive conclusion on the Implementation Agreement on carbon credits cooperation with the Philippines. We look forward to signing the agreement soon, and we also look forward to establishing similar arrangements with the rest of ASEAN Member States.

• Singapore awarded the first Request-for-Proposals last year, valued at about US$58 million, for the purchase of Article 6 carbon credits from nature-based projects in Ghana, Paraguay and Peru. A second Request-for-Proposal, covering both technology and nature-based carbon credits, is currently in progress, and we hope to work with more countries, including those in ASEAN, on carbon credits.

• Lastly, we should not neglect the gravity of developing climate resilience. Being climate resilient means ensuring that our food supplies and economic activities can withstand climatic changes.

Singapore's Own Climate Journey

12.    Singapore have designated 2026 as our Year of Climate Adaptation. It underscores our collective priority as government, businesses and people. We are developing a comprehensive National Adaptation Plan, aligned with the Global Goals on Adaptation framework and the Belem Adaptation Indicators that were adopted at COP30 — from infrastructure and public health to water, biodiversity, and urban planning.

13.    Our coastal protection efforts are being stepped up significantly. As a low-lying island city-state, the threat of rising sea levels is existential for us, and we are investing in long-term solutions to protect our shores and the communities that live along them. In formulating our Coastal Protection Bill that was passed in Parliament earlier this year, we have set out the responsibilities of coastal landowners, including public agencies who currently own 75% of our coastline.

14.    Food security is another area where adaptation is reshaping our approach. We launched the Singapore Food Story 2, a refreshed food security plan with targeted strategies to secure our food sources. A new pillar on “Global Partnerships” has been introduced to establish increase win-win cooperation with countries to strengthen resilience of food trade. To strengthen the region’s food security, we have also commissioned a study on ‘Climate Change in the Southeast Asia Region and its Impact on the Agricultural Sector’, which leverages the results of Singapore’s Third National Climate Change Study. The Study will be completed later this year and the results will be shared with ASEAN subsequently.

15.    As Chair of the ASEAN Working Group on Climate Change from 2025 to 2027, Singapore is deeply committed to supporting and advancing ASEAN's climate and environment agenda. We will work with all ASEAN Member States to make meaningful progress together. The work we do here this week, and in the months ahead, will carry forward into Singapore's ASEAN Chairmanship year in 2027 and beyond. We see this as a sustained, collective endeavour that builds momentum with each passing year.

A Call for ASEAN Centrality

16.    Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, let me close with this. The world is changing — in its climate, in its geopolitics, and in its economics. A world impacted by climate change is not a distant scenario; it is the world we are already entering. The question before ASEAN is whether we will shape that transition or be shaped by it.

17.    I believe we can and must choose the former. A united ASEAN — one that acts on climate change, invests in shared infrastructure, supports one another through disruptions ahead — is an ASEAN that remains competitive, resilient, and liveable for generations to come.

18.    Let us leave this week with renewed resolve, and let us carry that resolve into action. Thank you.