The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) officially inaugurated its first-ever dedicated pavilion at the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP30) on November 10, 2025.
The historic debut, undertaken in partnership with the European Union (EU) and Germany, positioned the ten-member bloc’s climate agenda on the global stage, operating under the theme, “ASEAN’s Global Mutirão – From Regional Solidarity to Global Action.”
Unified front for climate action
The establishment of the Pavilion signifies ASEAN’s strong, collective commitment to addressing the global climate emergency and implementing the Paris Agreement through both national and regional actions.
In his inaugural remarks, Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN, emphasised the pavilion’s critical role as a platform to demonstrate the region’s leadership, the ASEAN secretariat stated in a press release.
“The ASEAN Pavilion will showcase ASEAN’s leadership in accelerating the energy transition, enhancing climate finance, mobilising private sector participation, scaling nature-based solutions, and advancing just transition approaches,” the Secretary-General stated.
This was echoed by Datuk Nor Yahati Binti Awang, Deputy Secretary General of Environmental Sustainability of NRES Malaysia, who represented Malaysia as the ASEAN Chair.
Alongside Mr Joseph Teo, Chief Negotiator for Climate Change from Singapore, they highlighted that the Pavilion represents an opportunity to profile the region’s climate ambitions and served as a key platform for stakeholders to engage with ASEAN’s priorities.
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Showcasing regional ambition
Open throughout the duration of UNFCCC COP30, from November 10 to November 21, 2025, the ASEAN Pavilion functions as a strategic hub for dialogue, collaboration and partnership among its member states and international partners.
The platform is scheduled to host numerous events aligned with the COP30 thematic areas, contributing to both the Presidency’s priorities and the wider global climate agenda.
International support for this landmark initiative was strongly affirmed by Ms Diana Acconcia, Director for International Affairs and Climate Finance at the EU’s Directorate-General for Climate Action (DG CLIMA).
She re-affirmed the importance of ASEAN-EU co-operation in driving forward ambitious climate action, noting that the Pavilion is a tangible result of the enhanced engagement between the two regions, which gained significant momentum following the first ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting on Environment and Climate Change held in Malaysia last September.
The entire venture is financially supported by the ASEAN EU-German Climate Action Programme, a project funded by the European Union and Germany and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH.
The members of the ASEAN are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Timor-Leste.
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