The Philippines called for urgent international cooperation to finalize the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG) before 2025.
The NCQG is a crucial component of the Paris Agreement aimed at providing developing countries with increased financial support to address climate change impacts.
“We must realize the urgency and value of the NCQG as a framework that will provide much-needed financial support and mobilization to address the evolving needs and priorities of developing countries,” Department of Finance (DOF) chief of staff and Undersecretary Maria Luwalhati Dorotan Tiuseco said.
“It is our responsibility to come together and create an NCQG text that genuinely reflects these needs,” she said.
Tiuseco delivered the remarks at the 2024 High-Level Ministerial Dialogue on the NCQG on Climate Finance on Oct. 9, 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“From public interventions to private sector action, NCQG calls for a level of commitment that matches the scale of our ambition, while remaining sensitive to common but differentiated responsibilities, respective capabilities, and national circumstances,” she said.
The high-level meeting was a pre-event for the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP29).
It gathered ministers and deputy ministers around the world to identify and discuss solutions for the progress that must be made at COP29 across all pillars of the Paris Agreement with the NCQG as the centerpiece.
Tiuseco called for simplified access to finance, including through multilateral development banks (MDBs), multilateral funds and bilateral channels.
She said the quantum of the NCQG should be significantly supported by public finance, specifically by grants or highly concessional financing.
She said a five-year time frame with a mandatory periodic assessment and review beginning in the third year to reflect country-driven needs assessment should be adopted.
“We are firm in our stance that climate finance should be new and additional to any ODA that may be provided,” Tiuseco said.
Tiuseco co-facilitated the Climate Labs discussion on the NCQG with Swiss Ambassador Felix Wertli.
The session aims to thresh out the remaining issues on the NCQG and reach a consensus, in preparation for COP29. Canada, China, Denmark, France, India, Kazakhstan, the Maldives, Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Russia, Pakistan, Bolivia, Honduras and Spain joined the discussions.
Some parties emphasized that the purpose of the NCQG is to help developing countries fulfill their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and national adaptation plans (NAPs) as well as promote the achievement of the Paris Agreement.
Parties from the developing countries said the NCQG should be grounded on public sources flowing from developed countries and should be based on the needs and priorities of developing countries.
Prior to the high-level dialogue, Tiuseco also represented the Philippines at the Head of Delegations Meeting on NCQG on Oct. 8, 2024.
The COP29 will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan from Nov. 11 to 22, 2024.
