The Department of Finance (DOF) spearheaded a hybrid roundtable discussion as the lead facilitator for Climate Finance Network (CFN) initiatives in the Philippines to propel mainstreaming climate change components in the public financial management and further scale up access to climate finance.

“[W]e at the DOF are pleased to lead the initiatives of the Climate Finance Network in the Philippines, working hand-in-hand with government agencies and development partners to access and monitor climate finance most effectively,” DOF Chief-of-Staff and Undersecretary for Climate Finance Policy Group (CFPG) Maria Luwalhati Dorotan Tiuseco said in her opening remarks.

“[W]e stand ready to steer these innovative and intergovernmental solutions to efficiently manage all modalities of climate finance, disaster risk financing and insurance, and sustainable finance coordination,” she added.

The CFN is funded by the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (UK-FCDO) and executed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

It serves as a knowledge management and technical support facility to assist member countries’ Ministries of Finance, with the engagement of sector ministries and sub-national governments, in identifying and scaling up climate finance innovations in the region.

The UNDP introduced the CFN Programme and Country Plan, and presented the preliminary findings of the Climate Change Budget Integration Index (CCBII++) in the Philippines report.

This will pave the way for a more robust implementation of mainstreaming climate change components to efficiently manage financial flows towards adaptation and mitigation efforts. The DOF will work closely with the UNDP CFN to further enhance the Climate Change Expenditure Tagging with Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and Climate Change Commission (CCC).

The roundtable discussion also covered the CFN’s key initiatives in the Philippines, such as the Climate Change Budget Integration Index (CCBII+); Results Based Climate Budgeting; Adaptive Social Protection, and Climate Performance Audit support.

The CCBII is a tool developed by the UNDP to assess the level of integration of climate change finances in the public financial management systems of countries in the Asia Pacific region. The index was modified to include gender and human rights, which is now called CCBII++.

The goal is to establish CCBII++ baselines for each country, providing an empirical basis for assessing progress on the mainstreaming of climate change in the planning and budgeting process in the CFN countries.

On results-based climate budgeting, the CFN Philippine Country Strategy 2022 – 2026 identifies assistance to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for a results-based budgeting process, particularly for climate programs and activities.

This includes the preparation of guidelines for a budget call that incorporates provisions for the budgeting of climate-aligned programs, as well as guidelines for the mainstreaming of climate change in the government’s medium-term expenditure framework.

On top of this, the CFN Philippine Country Strategy 2022 – 2026 supports the Commission on Audit (COA) in undertaking climate performance audits through partnerships for sound mechanisms to ensure accountability and sustainability of actions.

It also helps in the assessments of audit results and its incorporation in strategic planning and investment programming; as well as tracking of completed and ongoing projects relative to climate change.

Finally, the CFN has begun working with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) this year to develop an Adaptive Social Protection Baseline Assessment and Agenda.

This includes identifying entry points for climate integration for a more adaptive social protection agenda for the government in improving its readiness for integrated adaptive social protection measures.

The DOF recognizes the need to mobilize a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to respond to the increasing demands of climate change.

With this, Undersecretary Tiuseco extended the DOF’s gratitude to international partners for their support in advancing climate finance initiatives that have allowed the Philippines to create the enabling conditions required to build long-term resilience against climate risks while facilitating an orderly transition to low-carbon, sustainable development pathways.

“As climate finance remains an emerging area of focus, we leverage the expertise of each agency so we can amplify our impact, accelerate the implementation of climate adaptation and mitigation projects, and ultimately attain our national targets,” she said.

The DOF vowed to lend its support to the innovative and intergovernmental solutions discussed during the event to efficiently manage all modalities of climate finance, disaster risk financing and insurance, and sustainable finance coordination.

The hybrid roundtable discussion was attended by national government agencies such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), DBM, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Commission on Audit (COA), National Economic Development Authority, Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), Congress Research and Budget Policy (CPBRD) as well as development partners from UNDP Philippines and UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub.