The Climate-Health Nexus in ASEAN Climate Governance: A Framing Analysis of the 2021 ASEAN State of the Climate Change Report

Background: Integrating health into climate governance has become increasingly important, yet little is known about how regional climate institutions frame the climate–health nexus within policy discourse. Objective: This study examines how the ASEAN State of Climate Change Report (ASCCR) frames the relationships among climate change, pandemics, infectious diseases, and public health, and explores the governance implications of these framings. Methods: A qualitative content analysis guided by Framing Theory and informed by Mayring’s approach was conducted on the ASCCR. Using deductive and inductive coding, text segments were organized into categories, sub-themes, and overarching themes to identify dominant policy narratives and climate–health framings. Results: Four overarching themes emerged: (1) pandemics as systemic disruptions rather than climate-induced events, (2) COVID-19 as a catalyst for green recovery and climate action, (3) infectious diseases as climate-sensitive health risks, and (4) public health as a foundation of climate resilience. Infectious diseases exhibited the strongest explicit climate–health linkages, whereas pandemics and COVID-19 were primarily framed through governance, resilience, and sustainable recovery. Public health was consistently positioned as a cross-cutting component of adaptation and resilience. Conclusion: The ASCCR reflects a pragmatic, consensus-based, and resilience-oriented approach to integrating health within regional climate governance. Strengthening climate–health integration through enhanced cross-sectoral coordination, explicit health considerations in climate policy, and climate-informed adaptation strategies could further advance ASEAN’s regional climate governance.