The selection of the Philippines as host of the Loss and Damage Fund (LDF) Board of the member-countries of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will not only broaden our access to international funds for fighting planet warming; it will also prop up the role of President Marcos as champion or spokesman for the world’s climate-vulnerable economies seeking ample financing from rich industrialized states largely responsible for the Earth’s rising temperatures, according to National Unity Party (NUP) president LRay Villafuerte.
Villafuerte said the recent choice of the Philippines as host of the 26-member Board of the LDF, “will definitely grow and accelerate the Marcos administration’s access to annual financing that the world’s most industrialized—and richest—nations have long committed for climate-proofing LDCs (least developed countries) like the Philippines along with SIDS (small island developing states) that have borne the brunt of the catastrophic impact of unabated GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions heating up the Earth’s surface.”
“More importantly, Manila’s selection as host of the LDF Board, which our President boldly offered in last year’s COP28 (28th session of the UN’s Conference of Parties or COP) in Dubai, has propped up Mr. Marcos’ position as champion or spokesman of the most vulnerable economies long seeking climate justice, in the form of damage compensation from the world’s most affluent industrialized states that have become richer as the heaviest polluters of the environment,” Villafuerte said.
As President of the host-country Philippines, “Mr. Marcos will certainly have a more emphatic voice to push here and abroad for climate justice and for ample financing for economies most affected by the ravages of planet heating,” Villafuerte said.
After prolonged, sometimes contentious, discussions on loss and damage compensation in previous COP conferences, the LDF was finally established last year at the end of COP 28, with the Philippines being selected as an alternate member of the Board assigned to work out the mechanics and handle the disbursements of this Fund to compensate target beneficiary-countries.
In his speeches overseas, the President stressed that climate action was so important for the Philippines, which, he said, was “regarded as probably one of the most, if not the most, vulnerable countries in the world to the effects of climate change.”
Villafuerte said the selection of the Philippines as host-country was “certainly a sensible decision” of the LDF Board because of the following four reasons:
President Marcos has been a consistent advocate, especially in his overseas trips, for climate justice from the world’s top GHG polluters for the most vulnerable countries like the Philippines.
Ever since his first presidential trip in September 2022 to attend the 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, Mr. Marcos has made it a point in many of his overseas travels to pitch climate justice and push LDF compensation for high-risk countries like the Philippines.
In his speeches overseas, the President stressed that climate action was so important for the Philippines, which, he said, was “regarded as probably one of the most, if not the most, vulnerable countries in the world to the effects of climate change.”
The President said the Philippines and other high-risk countries were very much in need of assistance from “all the first world countries and to be able to adjust … to the onset of the effects of climate change.”
In forums such as the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) Retreat Session in San Francisco, California in 2023, the President had warned other heads of states that the world is now facing what he called “the greatest environmental challenges of all time” that require “strong, immediate and coordinated international action.”
For Mr. Marcos, it is up to the Philippines and other high-risk states “to go to those developed countries who have had their development … they ended up changing the weather in the world. And for them to assist developing countries who have not been a contributor to global warming, to carbon gas emissions, through carbon emissions, and all the other activities that have caused the weather to change and for these disasters to be happening.”
He noted that President Marcos had pointed out that, “The effects of climate change are uneven and reflect a historical injustice. Those who are least responsible suffer the most … The Philippines, for example, is a net carbon sink. We absorb more carbon dioxide than we emit. And yet, we are the fourth most vulnerable country to climate change.”
The Philippines is one of the countries, if not the No. 1 country, that has so far suffered the most, in terms of economic and infrastructure losses, from typhoons and other natural calamities that have become nastier by the year as a result of climate change.
The Climate Change Commission (CCC) has projected losses worth P637 billion in the Philippines over the past 10 years from the impact of climate change, which is one factor that has slowed our country’s economic growth.
In the World Risk Report 2022 on the disaster risks of 193 countries, the Germany-based Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft and the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict at Ruhr University Bochum (IFHV) has bared that the Philippines rose in rank from No. 3 in 2018 to the current No. 1 spot, with a risk index score of 46.82.
The same report also listed the Philippines as among the Top 10 countries with the highest exposure to disasters, landing at No. 4 with 39.99 exposure, after China, Japan and Mexico.
Rather than mope over the dismal failure of COP member-states in the past to come through on their 2009 pledge to extend $100 billion-worth of annual financial aid by 2020 to developing states, the Philippines—under President Marcos’ leadership—is pursuing our country’s bold commitment in the COP26 in Glasglow, Scotland to cut our carbon footprint by a projected GHG emission reduction and avoidance of 75% over the 2020-2030 period for the agriculture, wastes, industry, transport and energy sectors; and
Despite budgetary constraints, the Marcos government has been pursuing concrete steps on decarbonization, specifically on weaning the country away from the use of fossil fuel for energy generation in favor of renewables like solar and wind power.
The government has prioritized hydrothermal, geothermal, solar power, wind power as well as other low-emission energy development projects, to meet its target for increasing the share of renewables in our country’s power generation mix from the current 22% to 35% by 2030 and 50% by 2040.
Villafuerte said that his homeprovince of CamSur, for one, promises to be the country’s hub for wind energy development and production given at least 16 wind farm projects that, once up and running, are estimated to produce over 7,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity combined.
After announcing the LDF Board decision to pick the Philippines as its host, President Marcos said that, “Mahalaga ito dahil ‘yung Loss and Damage Fund, ‘yan ang pondo na binibigay ng mga developed countries, ‘yung mga mayayaman na bansa. Iyan ang kanilang pondo na ibibigay para ayusin ‘yung mga naging problema sa environment ng industrialization na ginawa nila.”
“Ngayon, ang magho-host ng LDF Board ay ang Pilipinas,” he said. “Kaya naman ay magiging malaki ang ating impluwensiya para lahat ng ating pangangailangan, lahat ng ating pananaw tungkol dito sa subject matter na ito ay maaari nating sabihin. At maaring magka-influence tayo, sasabihin natin hindi niyo naisip ito o ang kailangan niyo na gawin ay ganito. Lahat ng mga ganyan, may boses tayo na malakas … Iyan ang pinaka-importanteng resulta sa pag-host ng Pilipinas sa LDF Board.”
Pledges for the LDF has thus far reached $792 million.
Besting seven other contender-economies that had similarly wanted to host the Board, the LDF Board elected the Philippines in its second meeting in South Korea last July 9.
The seven other contenders were Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Eswatini, Togo, and Kenya.
Tasked to set the LDF’s strategic direction, operations and work program, the LDBF Board has 26 members belonging to the UNFCCC—whose member-countries take part in the annual COP conferences—and the UNFCCC agreement in Paris in November 2015 (Paris Agreement) to limit the rise in global temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Twelve (12) of the LDF Board members represent developed countries and 14 are from developing ones.
The Philippines was given one of the seats of the first LDF Board at COP28 in Dubai, and Manila chose Finance Undersecretary Mark Dennis Joven to be our representative in the Board.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said the Philippines’ decision, through the President, to offer to host the Board as soon as it was operationalized during the COP28 in Dubai, was in step with “our duty to contribute to the success of the Fund’s institutional architecture, building on (the Philippines’) leadership in Loss and Damage … (it was) in keeping with our long-standing engagement on discussions of the Fund and our belief that all States must contribute to the success of its institutional architecture.”
Manalo said that hosting the LDF Board “will unlock more opportunities for the Philippines to accelerate its access to climate finance and investments, which are critical for future-proofing our economy and ensuring sustainable and inclusive growth for all Filipinos.”
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said at a briefing at Malacañan Palace that as a Board member, the Philippines will give priority to appeal for LDF support to address the: (1) destruction of biodiversity and species loss in climate-vulnerable countries; and (2) migration by nationalities whose countries face the risk of rising sea levels.
At the COP28 in Dubai, agreement was reached on putting up an initial $700 million for projects to compensate for the high-risk countries’ losses and damages from such climate change-impacts as rising sea levels that have threatened island-nations, devastating storms that kill people and hurt farm yields, and the El Niño phenomenon like this year’s unprecedented heat wave.
Rich states committed in 2009 to provide a total of $100 billion in annual aid for the climate-vulnerable economies to fight extreme weather patterns.
However, these countries were able to make good on their 2009 promise for $100-billion in annual aid only in 2022, when, as reported by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), these economies were able to raise $115.9 billion in climate financing for poorer states.
