To sustain ASEAN’s economic progress over the next 50 years, its leaders must commit to focusing on climate change.

Manila, where ASEAN leaders are gathering this week, is a reminder of the region’s remarkable growth, and of one of its biggest challenges.

The bustling Philippine metropolis epitomizes how 50 years of robust economic expansion has prompted unprecedented urban migration in Southeast Asia. But it also illustrates the vulnerability of the region’s booming mega-cities, many of which lay exposed to extreme weather events.