Kuala Lampur, Dec. 9 -- The floods and landslides sweeping across South-east Asia in 2025 have made one truth unavoidable: our region is now the most economically vulnerable to extreme climate events anywhere in the world. What was once dismissed as seasonal hazards has now evolved into a high-frequency, high-impact threat that can destabilise economies, shred social safety nets, and erode the legitimacy of governments simultaneously.

In Indonesia alone, the devastation across Sumatra has displaced almost a million people and killed hundreds. Southern Thailand is still submerged, with entire districts inaccessible. Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Cambodia and the Philippines have each faced variations of the same tragedy: torrential rain turning in...