Philippines Seeks Funding For Climate Finance

The Philippines, through the Department of Finance (DOF), is leading urgent negotiations for increased climate finance for vulnerable nations at the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP 29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The DOF delegation to COp29 is also advocating for dismantling barriers to accessing climate finance, such as high capital costs, currency risks, and debt burdens, which hinder investment in vulnerable nations. I Photo: World Health Organization

Representing Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto, Chief of Staff and Undersecretary Maria Luwalhati Dorotan Tiuseco leads the DOF delegation.

They are advocating for the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), a post-2025 global finance framework aimed at addressing the evolving adaptation, mitigation, and resilience needs of developing countries.

“We have an unmissable opportunity to bolster global climate finance, which for many vulnerable countries is a matter of life and death,” said Undersecretary Tiuseco during the High-Level Ministerial Dialogue on Climate Finance.

In response to Typhoon Pepito—the sixth typhoon to hit the Philippines in under a month—the DOF is pushing for an initial annual climate finance target of $1.3 trillion from developed nations.

The DOF delegation is also advocating for dismantling barriers to accessing climate finance, such as high capital costs, currency risks, and debt burdens, which hinder investment in vulnerable nations.

Key priorities include ensuring direct access to financial mechanisms, supporting country-led strategies, and expanding capacity-building initiatives.

The Philippines is also calling for climate justice, highlighting the disproportionate burden of climate change on nations least responsible for it.

COP 29, which runs from November 11 to 22, 2024, focuses on mobilizing trillions of dollars to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the escalating impacts of climate change.