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PH, developing countries tackle access to climate finance in Manila

MANILA, Dec. 7 (PNA) -- Finance officials and specialists from the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, and Nepal convened in Manila to tackle speedier access to international climate funding, in a follow up to the Marrakech climate negotiations.

In a declaration released Wednesday, the eight countries agreed to “call for urgent climate action and support from the international community” and at the same time “mobilize all available resources, including our own, to ensure that our domestic institutions can deliver climate finance far sooner and with far greater impact.”

The two-day meeting, which began last Tuesday, focused on how national governments, banks, and companies can help each other solve the challenges of applying for accreditation and approval of projects to the United Nations’ Green Climate Fund, which aims to mobilize US$ 100 billion per year by 2020 to support climate action in developing countries.

“We must now put climate justice into action. We need to operationalize access to resources and deploy funds to communities that need it the most,” said Secretary Emmanuel de Guzman of the Climate Change Commission.

The countries also discussed the mobilization of domestic climate funds, such as the People’s Survival Fund in the Philippines, now worth Php2 billion, which recently approved Php120 million to support climate adaptation projects for Del Carmen, Surigao del Norte and Lanuza, Surigao del Sur. Bangladesh also has its US$ 1-billion Climate Change Trust Fund that the country uses for both adaptation and mitigation projects.

“Asia’s developing countries, the Philippines included, urgently need climate finance to protect their communities from the already-staggering loss of life as well as escalating damage to the region’s economies,” said Renato Redentor Constantino, Executive Director of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC). “Governments in the region are eager to learn from one another how public and private institutions can most quickly and effectively leverage climate finance in pursuit of truly transformational, climate-resilient development.”

ICSC organized the climate finance meeting in partnership with the World Resources Institute, the German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit or GIZ, and the United Nations Development Programme. Over 60 participants representing the finance departments, financial institutions, and other organizations from eight countries participated in the event.

The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities is a policy group in the Philippines promoting low-carbon development strategies, sustainable energy solutions and fair climate policy in vulnerable countries. (PNA)

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