President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has created an interagency technical working group to lead the Philippines in its bid to host the Loss and Damage Fund (LDF) Board, allowing the country to access more climate financing and open wider opportunities for cooperation to address the impacts of climate change.
The LDF is a global financial mechanism designed to provide support to countries that are mostly impacted by climate change.
The President previously expressed the Philippines’ intent to host the LDF Board and called for LDF’s immediate operationalization to assist developing countries.
By hosting the LDF Board, the Philippines will gain significant traction from developed countries and development partners that can pledge voluntary contributions to finance the fund.
Moreover, the Philippines’ active engagement in the LDF will allow countries all over the world to collaborate with the Philippine government in tackling climate-related challenges.
It can also serve as an avenue for the Philippines to showcase its game-changing initiatives in the adaptation and mitigation front.
Under the Marcos, Jr. administration, the Philippine government pushed forward strategic investment and financing frameworks for climate and development positive actions.
It also enabled policies and measures to make the Philippines a destination for sustainable investments such as the initiatives under the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and Nationally Determined Contributions Implementation Plan (NDC IP) and its Financial Strategy.
Through a Technical Working Group led by the Department of Finance (DOF), the Philippines has begun preparations to support its bid to host the LDF Board, after securing a board seat for the years 2024 to 2026.
“The DOF will lead the country’s bid to host the Loss and Damage Fund. We have already begun thorough preparations on this matter, and we believe that the Philippines is more than ready to take on this important role,” said Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto.
The DOF convened member agencies in a series of meetings of the newly created LDF Technical Working Group (LDF TWG), namely, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA); the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); the Department of Budget and Management (DBM); and the Climate Change Commission (CCC) to discuss the strategies to be undertaken for the country’s hosting bid.
The DOF led the discussion on the proposed roles and responsibilities of each TWG member, highlighting the members’ expected contributions to developing the country’s hosting bid.
“Preparing to win the Philippines’ bid to host the LDF Board won’t be easy, but it is a lofty and worthwhile endeavor,” said Chief-of-Staff and Undersecretary Maria Luwalhati C. Dorotan Tiuseco, who presided over the 1st TWG meeting.
The Philippines is a strategic international hub with a strong presence of regional and international organizations hosted in the country.
Moreover, it is well equipped with an existing climate finance and disaster risk resilience framework, making it an ideal candidate to host the LDF Board.
The Philippines has active access to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which is a global fund that supports developing countries in responding to the challenges of climate change, and the Global Environment Fund (GEF), a global fund dedicated to confronting biodiversity loss, climate change, pollution, and supporting land and ocean health. The DOF is actively pursuing access to the Adaptation Fund.
