METRO MANILA - The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), through the Climate Finance Network (CFN) and the Accelerating Green and Climate Finance (AGCF) Project funded by the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (UK-FCDO) and the Government of Canada, respectively, is set to develop a comprehensive strategy for climate finance in the Philippines, marking a landmark effort to consolidate financing solutions for climate change action in the country.

In a strategy workshop, UNDP and the Department of Finance (DOF) led the Inter-Agency Task Force on Sustainable Finance or “Green Force” and other stakeholders to advance the climate finance agenda from public, private, and alternative sources for climate action. 

“The effects of the recent typhoons remind us why Sustainable Development Goal No. 13 or Climate Action is urgently needed in the Philippines. Aside from adaptation and mitigation measures across infrastructure, industry, agriculture, energy, and transportation, the climate crisis also demands financing to make all these actions possible,” said Dr. Selva Ramachandran, UNDP Philippines Resident Representative.

At its core, the Climate Finance Strategy connects funding to action. It aims to mobilize resources for climate action projects, consolidate funding from disparate sources, align public spending to the national development agenda, and encourage climate-friendly investments and innovations from the private sector.

The new strategy carves out a financing program from the Sustainable Finance Roadmap by the Green Force to focus on climate finance solutions. It also builds on funding opportunities for projects drawn from the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) Implementation Plan by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Climate Change Commission (CCC). 

“All these financing projects are commitments to empower the local government units and the national government agencies to stand on the forefront of climate action. We look forward to identifying possible needs to bridge the gaps in our shared financing requirements to implement our climate action through a whole-of-nation approach,” said Usec. Maria Luwalhati Dorotan Tiuseco of the DOF Climate Finance Policy Group (CFPG). 

The UNDP and DOF also aim to bridge the gap on how the Philippines can access the international climate finance fund. Locally, the Green Force aims to support communities access the People’s Survival Fund (PSF) amid the country’s growing cost on disaster response, mitigation, and future-proofing cities amid climate change. 

“This year, the UK FCDO identified that finance for climate action is a key pillar in our partnership with the Philippines, where increasing the quantity, quality, and accessibility of financing is a priority. We commit to work with stakeholders and mobilize climate finance beyond the National Adaptation Plan and the Nationally Determined Contribution Implementation Plan to improve capacity and strengthen the enabling environment for climate finance in the country,” said Alistair White, UK FCDO Deputy Head of Mission. 

“Canada, through its global climate finance commitment, will continue to support countries including the Philippines in their efforts to transition to low-carbon, environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient economies. We are pleased to play a role in supporting the Philippines in its efforts to develop a Climate Finance Strategy” said John Lok, Head of Cooperation Embassy of Canada to the Philippines,” said John Lok, Head of Cooperation Embassy of Canada to the Philippines. 

The workshop was attended by officials from the UK FCDO and Embassy of Canada; members of the Green Force from the national government agencies such as the DENR, CCC, BSP, Board of Investments (BOI), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Insurance Commission (IC), Public-Private Partnership Center (PPP Center), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Transportation (DOTr), and Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA); as well as representatives from the Asian Development Bank and Banco De Oro (BDO).

The workshop discussions centered on strengthening the collaboration between the different agencies and the private sector in addressing the climate change challenge. The group also aims to co-pilot climate finance solutions in the strategy that may be presented at the UN Climate Change Conference – 29^th Conference of the Parties (COP 29) in Baku, Azerbaijan this November 2024. ###