Dubai, United Arab Emirates―The Philippines reiterated its call to accelerate climate finance and find nature-based solutions aimed at addressing weather changes and biodiversity loss.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary Analiza Rebuelta-Teh said concerted efforts to boost climate finance was a key enabler to advance the understanding and implementation of nature-based solutions in the country, with the integration of inclusivity within local communities.
She added the Philippines, being one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, advocates for a “demand-driven and needs-based financing through a blended approach of grants, investments, and subsidies.”
“The Philippines is pushing for accelerating climate finance. To be able to do that, we need to collaborate―the government, all countries, private sector, and philanthropic organizations, and really identify how we can achieve much-needed resources to implement nature-based solutions on the ground,” said Teh during a side event of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28).
Nature-based solutions are approaches that employ natural processes or systems to solve societal problems in a sustainable manner. These may include reforestation initiatives, mangrove restoration projects, sustainable agricultural methods, and the creation of green infrastructure such as urban parks.
The World Bank said nature-based solutions can provide up to 37 percent of the emission reductions the world needs by 2030 to keep global temperature increases under 2 degrees Celsius. They also aid in the fulfillment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
“We should acknowledge that the purpose of nature-based solutions is to deliver affordable and scalable actions at the community level to fight against climate change,” added Teh.
The DENR official noted that aside from financing, implementing projects on nature-based solutions for the country should be planned through the lens of disaster preparedness, so that these can significantly contribute to building resilience, mitigating risks, and adapting to the impacts of climate change.
“Aside from the financing barrier, we also need to address the governance barrier. While several initiatives mainstream gender in climate financing mechanisms, the challenge is how we leverage gender equity in climate financing by prioritizing adaptation and mitigation measures or projects that would build maximum co-benefits to the poor and other vulnerable sectors including women.”
As women constitute the majority of the world’s poor and are known to rely more on natural resources for their livelihood, they are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change than men.
Teh added addressing the knowledge gap was a must, stressing that some communities still implement food system practices that can actually harm the ecosystem and the habitat.
“There are several innovations and technologies that would need our communities to be capacitated to be informed so we need to address those gaps to accelerate climate finance,” she said.
Climate finance is one of the major themes in COP 28. According to Article 9 of the Paris Agreement, developed nations are required to fulfill their prior commitments under the convention by giving developing states financial support for their efforts to mitigate climate change and adapt to it. DENR News
