GLASGOW—The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) recently transmitted President Rodrigo Duterte’s letter to the government of the United Kingdom (UK) formalizing the Philippines’ commitment to reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 as stated under the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use.

President Duterte said in his letter to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson that the action areas expressed in the Leaders’ Declaration are consistent with the targets and goals of the Philippines in attaining sustainable forest management.

The Philippines’ support for the Leaders’ Declaration was upon the recommendation of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, who is the Chairman-designate of the Climate Change Commission (CCC) and head of the country’s delegation to the 26th United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) held here.

The action areas expressed in the Declaration include conserving forests and other terrestrial ecosystems and accelerating their restoration; and facilitating trade and development policies, internationally and domestically, that promote sustainable development along with sustainable commodity production and consumption that work to countries’ mutual benefit, and that do not drive deforestation and land degradation.

Reaffirming international financial commitments and significantly increasing finance and investment from a wide variety of public and private sources, while also improving its effectiveness and accessibility, to enable sustainable agriculture, sustainable forest management, forest conservation and restoration, and support for Indigenous Peoples and local communities, are also among the action areas in the Declaration.

On Nov. 2, Prime Minister Johnson announced that over 100 countries, including China, Russia, and Brazil, had signed the Leaders’ Declaration. The Philippines was also among the countries in the list.

In his letter, President Duterte said the Declaration is also consistent with the Philippines’ National Climate Change Action Plan 2011-2028, “particularly under Ecological and Environmental Stability that is focused on the protection and rehabilitation of critical ecosystems, and restoration of ecological services.”

President Duterte pointed out that “sustainable and resilient agriculture and forestry are essential for commodity production and achieving the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), promoting economic development, reducing poverty food security, and improving the livelihoods of billions of people.”

He said the Philippines believes that through collective action and efforts among countries and regions, it will be able to deliver the action areas under the Declaration, and even the targets of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and other initiatives.

Last Nov. 1, Secretary Dominguez affirmed the Philippines’ support to the Declaration during a meeting here with Mr. Richard Graham, member of Parliament for Gloucester, and the UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to the ASEAN Economic Community.

Mr. Graham also discussed with Secretary Dominguez the issue of green finance and the Philippines’ initiatives to combat climate change during the meeting.

Secretary Dominguez cited the importance of the “blended approach” or the sustainable orchestration of grants, investments, and subsidies to make climate finance work for its beneficiaries.

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