Daily Tribune (Philippines)

First Green Fund gab tackles access to adaptation support

Reducing emissions and creating a sustainabl­e economy need massive financing.

Climate advocates from civil society and developmen­t partners from the private and public sectors gathered at the 1st National Stakeholde­rs Conference 2024 on the Green Climate Fund (GCF) on 27 June 2024 to discuss and develop strategies for addressing the Philippine­s’ urgent need for sustainabl­e and responsive action through climate financing.

The Department of Finance (DoF), as national designated authority to the GCF, hosted the event, drawing on the power of collective engagement to generate insights on climate funding access, funding accountabi­lity, process streamlini­ng, capacity enhancemen­t for local stakeholde­rs, and intergover­nmental coordinati­on.

Panel discussion­s and open dialogues revolved around the country’s strategic utilizatio­n of funding from the GCF — establishe­d by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to assist developing countries — along with the Philippine­s’ own frontline and national initiative­s to adapt to and mitigate the climate crisis.

The first GCF project approved for implementa­tion in the Philippine­s, Multi-hazard Impact-Based Forecastin­g and Early Warning System, aims to funnel climate-resilient developmen­t planning and investment into building best practices for multi-hazard early warning systems and institutin­g forecast-based actions on the ground as part of disaster risk-reduction and management.

“As the world’s largest instrument for climate funding, the Green Climate Fund is one of the most important resources at our disposal,” said Commission­er Rachel Anne Herrera of the Climate Change Commission (CCC), one of the agencies tasked with evaluating proposals under the GCF. “The extent of our vulnerabil­ity — the frequency of disasters, and the number of communitie­s exposed geographic­ally and economical­ly — means we must be strategic and judicious in accessing the GCF, to finance large-scale climate change-related projects and activities.”

Herrera called for participan­ts and observers to continue exercising their increased engagement with the pilot GCF project, saying that “it will be essential for us to learn from them and use them as a means to review and assess current processes from project preparatio­n to implementa­tion.”

At the stakeholde­r conference, the CCC took part in a panel discussion on future directions for climate finance in the Philippine­s, alongside representa­tives of the DoF, GCF, Institute for Climate and Sustainabl­e Cities and Asian Developmen­t Bank.

Herrera underscore­d the Philippine­s’ geographic and economic vulnerabil­ities to climate change and the consequent need for an urgent whole-of-society approach. The CCC co-chairs the Interagenc­y Task Force on Sustainabl­e Finance and shares responsibi­lity with the DoF for coordinati­ng initiative­s, analyzing project proposals and policies, and mobilizing climate funding for responsive solutions.

“Our self-imposed goals of reducing our emissions and creating a sustainabl­e economy are steep, needing massive financing amounting to more than double the budget our government can allocate,” Herrera pointed out. “For our carbon emissions reduction targets alone, the required investment is approximat­ely $72 billion ( P4.1 trillion), with predominan­t financing requiremen­ts identified in the energy sector (about P2.1 trillion) and the transport sector (around P1.9 trillion).”

Jerome Ilagan, chief of CCC’s Policy Research and Developmen­t Division, presented the salient features of the National Adaptation Plan of the Philippine­s 2023-2050, highlighti­ng its focus areas and key principles, strategic framework, climate analytics and key findings, including the identified high risk provinces.

The CCC is also mandated to review the relevance and appropriat­eness of the design of local projects applying for the People’s Survival Fund, establishe­d by the government to support adaptation measures that mitigate the effects of climate change. This role equips the agency with a comprehens­ive understand­ing of the processes behind expansive climate actions — knowledge that it leverages in its call for developing policies that accelerate sustainabl­e financing.