The government is urging financial institutions to provide innovative solutions and investment models that will spur financing on the green, climate-smart, and sustainable projects.
In a recent statement, the Climate Change Commission said the discussions focused on the role of public finance and private-sector investments in the implementation of the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement, which is now being finalized through a “whole-of-government-and-society” approach being facilitated by the CCC.
The CCC statement was issued during a forum on climate finance held recently in Mandaluyong.
CCC Secretary Emmanuel M. de Guzman was quoted in the statement as saying that the government is addressing the shortage of risk information in the country in order to de-risk investments.
“We are working on the establishment of a National Integrated Risk Information System, an integrated platform that will converge all available vulnerability and risk information in the country. This will be made accessible to all stakeholders, including the financial and private sector,” de Guzman said. “In addition to that, we are also assisting the Office of Civil Defense in developing loss and damage registry and protocols for valuation and validation, which could provide the insurance sector with a better picture of risk prevalence,” he added.
CCC Commissioner Rachel Anne S. Herrera noted that climate finance is currently limited in terms of availability. “There is no other recourse but to be strategic in terms of funneling in climate finance from various sources and channeling them to those who need it the most,” said Herrera, who is also the national designated authority/focal point to the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
Herrera said the CCC is seeking funding under GCF’s “Readiness and Preparatory Support” program to establish a monitoring and verification system of climate finance flows in the Philippines.
She added that a GCF technical working group is now deliberating two multicountry funding proposals that aim to leverage GCF funds in order to attract more private-sector investments through equity sharing and de-risking of renewable-energy projects.
“This is an indicator of the private-sector confidence in investing in the Philippines for energy efficiency and renewable projects,” she said.