The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) 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.
UNDP and the Department of Finance (DOF) in a strategy workshop 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.
The UNDP bared the financing strategy 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 Canadian government, respectively.
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 Finance Undersecretary Maria Luwalhati Dorotan Tiuseco of the department’s 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 seeks 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,” 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,” said John Lok, head of Cooperation Embassy of Canada to the Philippines. UNDP News
