FOLLOWING the government’s successful implementation of domestic climate financing, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said he will push for the creation of a similar scheme at a global level during the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this week.
“We will use this platform to rally the global community and call upon nations to honor their commitments, particularly in climate financing,” the chief executive said at the ceremonial turnover of the People’s Survival Fund (PSF) in Malacañang on Wednesday. During the event, the chief executive led the turnover of P541.44-million PSF to six local government units (LGU).
The fund was used by its beneficiaries for climate field schools in Mountain Province, installation of drainage and early warning systems in Bukidnon, as well as embankment and infrastructure in Eastern Samar.
It was also tapped for an irrigation project in Isabela, mangrove rehabilitation project in Quezon, and water harvesting infrastructure also in Mountain Province.
Trailblazer
MARCOS said the PSF can serve as a model for the proposed Loss and Damage Fund (LDF), which will be discussed in the COP28 held in Dubai, UAE.
“I leave for Dubai, in the UAE tomorrow [November 30] to participate in the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change or what is more commonly known as COP28; we are once again poised to lead,” the President said.
The PSF, which has an initial P1 billion capitalization, was created by Republic Act No. 10174 to help local government units (LGU) and accredited local and community organizations implement measures for climate change adaptation, mitigation and disaster risk reduction measures.
“We can proudly say that the Philippines is a trailblazer in domestic climate finance for adaptation, showcasing our nation’s commitment to global environmental responsibility,” Marcos said.
Department of Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Maria Teresa T. Almojuela said the President is set to deliver the national statement during the plenary sessions of the COP28.
“He will be number 11 of so many speakers in one of the plenaries; and in the same afternoon, after he has delivered the national statement, he will be attending a leaders’ session on transforming climate finance,” the DFA official said. She said the President is also expected to have a dozen bilateral meetings during the sidelines of COP28. Aside from the President, the country has 237 registered delegates at the event.
Trillions of funds
DENR Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said the government is eyeing to immediately tap the LDF and other financial sources since the country will need “trillions” of pesos to augment its existing PSF to achieve its emissions reduction targets.
Under the National Adaptation Plan (NAP), the government will initiate measures to bring down emissions in the energy and transport and agriculture sector. It will also implement adaptation programs to ensure food security.
Loyzaga noted the talks regarding LDF will be a “long fight” due to contentions, on which parties must finance including top carbon emitting countries, international financial organizations and private sector philanthropists.
“It is extremely important that this becomes operationalized soonest, and that we are able to access it in a timely and locally-driven fashion,” Loyzaga said.
“We hope that this will come in the form of additional social development funding, funding for resilient infrastructure so that in fact, we can in fact avoid the kind of destruction that we are already facing and have faced in the past,” she added. The Climate Change Commission (CCC) earlier said it is hopeful the country will qualify for the LDF since the country, while contributing only a small fraction of the global carbon emissions, is among the most devastated by extreme weather events caused by climate change.
DENR said the country contributes less than 0.5 of one percent of global emissions.
Image credits: AP/Aaron Favila