Building a cleaner, more resilient future: From London to the Philippines

The decisions we make on climate, nature and energy today will shape the jobs, industries and economies of tomorrow. This is not simply an environmental challenge; it is one of the defining economic opportunities of our time.

The global clean energy transition is already underway. Last year, investment in clean energy reached $2 trillion globally, outpacing fossil fuels two to one. For Southeast Asia, home to some of the world’s fastest-growing economies, the opportunity is clear: to strengthen energy security, create jobs and build more resilient economies through the transition to a low-carbon future.

These themes were at the heart of London Climate Action Week, where governments, businesses and investors came together to turn ambition into action. While the conversations took place in London, the outcomes matter far beyond the UK.

Few countries feel the effects of a changing climate as sharply, or as relentlessly, as the Philippines. From 2022-2025, the Philippines topped the World Risk Index which assesses the disaster risk for 193 countries. As I have traveled around the country I have heard how stronger typhoons, heavier rainfall, prolonged flooding and increasingly unpredictable seasons are disrupting lives and livelihoods.

For six years the UK-Philippines climate partnership has worked to develop the first Philippine National Adaptation Plan (NAP) to help respond to this situation. Through ongoing support to NAP implementation, we are helping local governments understand the current and future impacts of climate change on their food production, water security and local economies.

With the Department of Finance, the Department of Environment and Natural Resource and the Climate Change Commission, we have also launched the Philippine Adaptation Investment Platform. The first-of-its-kind mechanism is designed to mobilize at least P19 billion for climate-resilient food and water systems.

Through the UK-supported Adaptation Investment Learning Course, we are working with the Local Government Academy to help scale adaptation investments that will strengthen the capacity of local governments to plan and invest for climate resilience.

Supporting climate adaptation and resilience is at the heart of UK foreign policy. At London Climate Action Week, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the UK Met Office launched the AI Weather for Action, Knowledge and Early response through Networks (AWAKEN). This initiative harnesses AI to improve weather forecasting and early warning systems in vulnerable countries, beginning with the Philippines. This builds on a decade of collaboration between the UK Met Office and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). Together, we have worked to transform data into early warning systems that reach farmers, fisherfolk and local governments before disaster strikes. More time to prepare means more lives and livelihoods saved.

But one of the clearest messages from London Climate Action Week is that accelerating energy transition will require even greater flows of investment.

The UK brings world-leading expertise in green finance, infrastructure development and energy transition, while countries across Southeast Asia offer some of the world’s most exciting opportunities for sustainable growth. This year, Bloomberg ranked the Philippines as the second most attractive emerging market for renewable (RE) investment.

Just last month President Marcos led the inauguration of the first phase of the MTerra Solar Project, soon to be the largest battery and solar field in the world, backed by investment from UK company Actis. The Philippines can become a clean energy leader in ASEAN with 178 gigawatts of offshore wind potential.

The opportunity is clear: to strengthen energy security, create jobs and build more resilient economies through the transition to a low-carbon future. Alongside the energy transition, there is growing recognition that nature must be treated as critical infrastructure. Climate action is not only about reducing emissions or deploying new technologies. It is also about harnessing the power of nature.

As fellow island nations, the UK and the Philippines share an understanding that climate action and economic growth are not competing priorities. The message from London is clear – they are increasingly one and the same.

Extreme weather is disrupting supply chains, threatening food and water security and placing growing pressure on governments, businesses and communities across the region.

The UK is committed to working with the Philippines and partners across the Indo-Pacific to turn these challenges into opportunities through investment, innovation and practical partnership. The future of clean, resilient growth will be shaped here in the region, and we stand ready to help build it together.

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Sarah Hulton is the British Ambassador to the Philippines.