The Philippines having to host the Loss and Damage Fund (LDF) Board under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will help the country gain fair access to financial resources for funding climate change adaptation and mitigation measures.
Thus said Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda as he congratulated the Marcos administration for its successful efforts to have the Philippines host the LDF.
Salceda, chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means, was elected first Asian co-chair elected by 180 nation-states to UN Green Climate Fund, a predecessor of the LDF.
“As a former delegate to the UNFCCC, alongside many Filipino experts, we fought for the principle of loss and damage and why it needs compensation,” said Salceda. Maricel V. Cruz
“Loss and damage are adverse impacts of climate change despite adaptation and mitigation measures. They are, in other words, the unavoidable losses due to the fault primarily of industrialized countries,” he added.
The Philippines won a seat in the LDF Board, in addition to hosting the body. Its bid won over seven other contenders.
As the host of the Board of the Fund, the Philippines will continue to concretely contribute to the fast and seamless operationalization of the LDF, particularly by “ensuring that the meetings of the Board are successfully held and supported.”
“And because it is both inevitable and attributable, the principle is that we should hold large industrialized countries accountable for loss and damage to climate-vulnerable communities.”
As first Asian co-chair of the UNFCCC Green Climate Fund, Salceda is recognized for leading the board to completing the 8 prerequisites for operationalization during the Board meeting in Bali, Indonesia and for raising $13 billion for the Green Climate Fund in the Initial Resource Mobilization in Oslo, Norway. Salceda was recognized for these accomplishments during the Conference of Parties (COP) 20 in Lima, Peru in 2014.
Salceda urged the Marcos administration to take an aggressive stance on loss and damage during climate talks in 2022, in the aftermath of typhoon Paeng.
An initial $700 million was pledged by donor countries to the LDF. Experts warn, however, that this is merely 0.2 percent of the total loss and damage that developing countries suffer from climate change every year.
“The Philippines has moral ascendancy in climate talks. We are the most climate-vulnerable country in the world. And we are also a global leader in DRR and climate change adaptation.”
“Hosting the LDF Board gives us a platform to highlight the true scale of the problem and to call for proportionate action from the leading economies of the world — those who benefited from the emissions the most.”
