GLASGOW—The Philippines has presented a set of proposals to operationalize the Santiago Network, which is envisioned to connect climate-vulnerable developing countries with providers of the technical assistance, knowledge and resources that they need to address climate risks comprehensively in the context of averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage resulting from climate change.
Represented by Department of Energy (DOE) Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella, the Philippines proposed, among others, catalyzing and accelerating action across organizations to work on addressing loss and damage arising from climate change during the recent Group of 77 (G-77) and China meeting.
Undersecretary Fuentebella also underscored the need to facilitate the conduct of comprehensive risk assessments based on the best and the latest available science in pursuing innovation, technology development and transfer, capacity building and finance and investments.
Developing countries should be assisted in having transparent and evidence-based delivery of loss and damage-related technical assistance and other support from the developed countries under the Paris Agreement, and should be able to keep track of the progress made in addressing loss and damage, he added.
Undersecretary Fuentebella also proposed facilitating the provision of adequate risk management to attend to the increasing risk exposure of vulnerable countries to climate-induced hazards.
He also cited the need to inform the work of other constituted bodies of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement.
Undersecretary Fuentebella is part of the 19-member Philippine delegation to the UN COP26 headed by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, and comprising officials from the Departments of Finance (DOF), of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); DOE; and the Office of the President (OP).
The Philippine delegation will continue to advocate the protection of the country’s interests in the two-week-long international summit, and call on developed countries, which are largely responsible for most greenhouse gas emissions, to deliver on their 2009 commitment to provide $100-billion in climate financing each year, to highly vulnerable countries like the Philippines, by 2020.
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