DoF: $1.3-T climate financing urgent

The Department of Finance (DoF) is urging the speedy provision of climate finance worth $1.3 trillion per year from developed countries to low-income, disaster-prone countries like the Philippines as it continues to face stronger typhoons amid extreme temperatures.

In a statement on Monday, DoF said Finance Secretary Ralph Recto and Undersecretary Maria Luwalhati Dorotan Tiuseco made this appeal during the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 29) in Baku, Azerbaijan.

COP 29 which runs from 11 to 22 November coincided with the entry of more typhoons to the Philippines named “Nika,” “Ofel” and “Pepito.”

Opportunity not to be missed

“We have been given an unmissable opportunity to shore up the global climate finance war chest, which for many vulnerable countries is a matter of life and death. That is why here at COP29, the Philippines is aggressively pushing for bold actions and sustained, increased financing once and for all for countries that are perpetually on the frontlines of catastrophic typhoons,” Tiuseco said.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, over 84,000 families have been affected by the three most recent typhoons. The latest is “Pepito” which entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility on 17 November and has been registered as the country’s 16th tropical cyclone this year.

In terms of infrastructure damage, the Department of Public Works and Highways reported it reached over P177 million.

During COP 29, DoF said participants have been discussing ways to meet the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) which enforces countries to set a new annual climate finance target by next year, after hitting the target of $100 billion per year in 2022.

NCQG participants are the signatories to the Paris Agreement which aims to reduce global carbon emissions by capping the increase of the world temperature to just 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Most vulnerable to natural disasters

While the Philippines contributes only 0.48 percent to global carbon emissions, former DoF Secretary Benjamin Diokno stressed the country is the most vulnerable to natural disasters based on the 2023 World Risk Index.

The Philippines scored 46.86 out of 100, the highest among 193 countries, indicating a “very high risk” level.

If climate change worsens, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas estimates the Philippine economy will shrink by P645 billion each year until 2030.

Last year, the central bank said the country recorded P24.4 billion in agriculture and infrastructure damage after global temperature rose by 1.48 degrees Celsius or near the Paris Agreement’s limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius.