For an equitable, humane, and sustainable Southeast Asia
WE, the peoples of Southeast Asia, representing different people’s movements, civil society organizations, faith organizations, gas and coal-affected communities, farmers, fisherfolk, workers, women, and youth, hereby declare:
Southeast Asia is at the forefront of the climate and biodiversity crisis. Home to the Coral Triangle, the planet’s most biologically diverse marine ecosystem, and to rich tropical forests and coastal wetlands, our region holds a vital share of the Earth’s natural heritage that sustains more than 120 million people and thousands of species. Yet, it is also among the most climate-vulnerable and biodiversity hotspot regions in the world. Heatwaves, typhoons, floods, and rising seas are already displacing communities, destroying habitats, and undermining the food and water security of millions. Addressing these crises is not only urgent, it is also for our survival.
Despite this, ASEAN’s prevailing development model remains rooted in destructive, profit-driven systems that exploit people, animals, and nature. The region’s reliance on fossil fuels and destructive, cruel industries continues to accelerate biodiversity loss, degrade critical ecosystems, cause food insecurity, and violate the rights of communities that depend on them.
We express our deep concern over ASEAN’s continued lack of urgency in addressing the interlinked crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, species extraction, and energy injustice. ASEAN’s top-down and market-centric approach excludes meaningful participation from indigenous people, fisherfolk, smallholder farmers, women, and other frontline vulnerable communities whose lives are most intertwined with nature’s fate.
WE CALL on ASEAN for a decisive shift towards a people-centered agenda for biodiversity protection and recovery. This agenda must be inclusive, rooted in climate justice and integral ecology, which serves especially the most vulnerable and marginalized, particularly indigenous peoples, fisherfolk, and coastal communities whose lives and livelihoods are on the frontlines of climate and ecological breakdown.
This transformation must restore degraded ecosystems, revive terrestrial and marine biodiversity, and protect species and habitats. It must ensure that the recovery of biodiversity goes hand in hand with social well-being, equity, and food sovereignty, securing a just, humane, and sustainable future for both people, planet, and all living beings.
WE DEMAND that ASEAN Member States uphold and fully implement their global commitments, specifically the Paris Agreement, the Global Methane Pledge, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
WE DEMAND that ASEAN Member States move towards alignment with the 1.5°C goal. This requires more ambitious nationally-determined commitments (NDCs), bold climate action, including defense and adaptation measures that center biodiversity protection and restoration, sustainable food systems, and community resilience against climate impacts, and with the delivery of climate finance.
WE CALL on developed nations to acknowledge and act on their historical responsibility for the climate crisis, upholding the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR). The Global South, including Southeast Asia, must not be forced to follow the same destructive path. Instead, we must strategically embrace a just energy and food transition and biodiversity protection as our core economic strategy to meet the needs of our people while safeguarding our invaluable biodiversity, our primary defense against the climate crisis.
Today, 183 oil and gas fields exist within the Coral Triangle: 113 are operational, 13 are in development, and 50 have been discovered. If all explored extraction fields are allowed to operate, the area covered by offshore oil and gas fields in this marine region will increase from 1% to a devastating 16%. These blocks overlap with 24% of coral, 37% of mangroves, and 22% of seagrass ecosystems in the region.
Furthermore, 15 of 19 operating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in the Coral Triangle are located within 10 kilometers of sensitive marine ecosystems, including coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass beds. Proposed export capacity stands at 24 million tons per annum (mtpa), with import capacity at 25.9 mtpa. Moreover, proposals for gas power plants within the Coral Triangle amount to a combined capacity of 64,383 MW.
WE DEMAND that ASEAN Member States should finally recognize the role of fossil fuels, industrial agriculture, and other cruel extractive industries in endangering both terrestrial and marine ecosystems. ASEAN States must respond by declaring key biodiversity areas and wildlife corridors, such as the Coral Triangle, Verde Island Passage, Tun Mustapha Park, and Mekong Delta, as no-go zones for any extractive and destructive activities. These landscapes and seascapes are our region’s natural defense against the climate crisis and the foundation of our cultural and ecological identity.
WE CALL for the accelerated protection and recovery of biodiversity toward achieving the 30×30 global target. This necessitates decisive action for transboundary ocean, biodiversity protection, and a committed transition away from environmentally destructive production practices toward a future defined by an equitable, humane, and just transition.
WE DEMAND ASEAN Member States the realization of the fundamental human right to water and sanitation. This commitment is inseparable from the right to a healthy environment, which is essential for human life, health, and well-being. Furthermore, we demand the recognition of the community’s right to self-defense against environmental degradation, primarily caused by the destructive extractive economy.
WE CALL on ASEAN Member States to adopt and enforce laws to curb transboundary waste, haze, and pollution by regulating corporate conduct at home and abroad. Such laws should hold corporations and individuals accountable for waste and haze-causing activities, penalize actions that undermine environmental integrity, and protect the reputation of responsible industries committed to genuine sustainability.
WE REJECT false solutions such as fossil gas, liquified natural gas (LNG), carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), carbon farming, biofuel, ammonia, hydrogen, and similar technologies that only prolong dependence on fossil fuels, perpetuate ecological destruction, and delay real climate action. Initiatives such as Asia Zero Emissions Community (AZEC) must move away from these false solutions and commit instead to genuine renewable energy development that benefits people and nature.
WE REJECT any loosening of regulations to reopen or justify the expansion of coal-fired power plants under the guise of transition minerals extraction and production. Such actions prolong dependence on fossil fuels and will only intensify the climate and biodiversity crises. We reiterate our call for the urgent and equitable phase-out of coal, ensuring a just transition toward renewable energy systems that protect people and the planet.
WE DEMAND that ASEAN Member States must prevent energy transition mechanisms from becoming greenwashing tools or new forms of land and resource grabbing. Real solutions for a just food and energy transition must reduce emissions and move away from fossil fuels, uphold the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, through free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), and deliver measurable benefits for biodiversity protection and ecosystem restoration – not corporate profit.
WE URGE that financial flows be redirected towards renewable energy over further expansion of fossil fuels, especially distributed renewable energy (DRE), agroecology, and community-led sustainable initiatives.
WE CALL for a transparent and accessible Loss and Damage Fund that provides urgent support to communities devastated by the climate crisis, with priority given to the most vulnerable populations. This fund must be financed primarily by Global North countries, which bear historical responsibility for the climate crisis.
WE CALL on ASEAN Member States to uphold and harness local and indigenous knowledge and practices as central to the implementation of the energy transition, food production, and biodiversity conservation. These embody coexistence, compassion, and respect for all forms of life.
We DEMAND that ASEAN Member States ensure respect for all human rights and provide protection for environmental defenders who risk their lives to protect their home and critical biodiversity.
WE URGE ASEAN to establish and adopt a legally binding framework for environmental rights – a commitment to a safe, clean, healthy, humane, and sustainable environment for all people across Southeast Asia in the present and in the future, embedding biodiversity protection and recovery and environmental justice. We further demand that environmental goals be made central, the need for inter-pillar integration and implementation through the frameworks of the social and economic pillars of the ASEAN framework.
WE CALL upon all Southeast Asians to heed the urgent cry of the Earth and the poor, compelling us to safeguard the integrity of our Common Home.
The time for half-measures has passed. ASEAN must abandon its destructive path and embrace a bold, planet and people-centered transformation. We must protect our shared environment, the life on land and below water, secure humane and equitable systems, and build a sustainable future for all that upholds the rights and dignity of all communities across the region.
This is our shared mission: to safeguard and restore the Coral Triangle, Verde Island Passage, Tun Mustapha Park, Mekong Delta, and other biodiversity frontiers in the region that form the heartbeat and sustain life, culture, and resilience in Southeast Asia and the world.
Signed,
Aniban ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (AMA)
Bantay Kita
Caritas Philippines
Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS)
Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED)
Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology (CREST)
Chachoengsao RE Power
Climate Action Network Southeast Asia
Earthrights International
Energy Shift Southeast Asia
Episcopal Commission on Indigenous Peoples-National Secretariat
Fossil Free Thailand
Friends of the Earth Japan
Greenpeace Southeast Asia
KRuHA (People’s Coalition for the Right to Water)
Negrosanon Initiative for Climate and the Environment
OHD-CCD-Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference
Protect Verde Island Passage (Protect VIP)
Rayong Clean Energy
RimbaWatch
Sipaway Seagrass Guardians
Solutions For Our Climate
Trend Asia
WALHI
World Animal Protection
BankTrack
FIAN Sri Lanka
Lanka Organic Agricultural Movement
Reclaim Finance
Rainforest Action Network