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While the Philippines is highly exposed to natural hazards by virtue of its geography, there is growing resolve among government and civil society to enhance climate adaptation and disaster resilience
Climate change and the environment are top of mind for many at this time of year. At the global level, the annual Conference of the Parties on biodiversity and nature concluded earlier this month, and negotiations on climate change are drawing to a close.
Here in the Philippines, Climate Change Consciousness Week is underway. And in early December, the Philippines will convene the board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage. The meeting in Manila will be the first such meeting since the Philippines was selected as host of the board in July 2024.
The selection of the Philippines to play a leading role on addressing loss and damage from climate change is no surprise. The Philippines is at the frontlines of climate change, and this year has been no exception. Canada stands with the Philippines in mourning the loss of life and in supporting relief and recovery efforts. The impact on livelihoods and the economic toll cannot be understated. The data is staggering — over 9.5 million persons affected by tropical cyclones Kristine and Leon in recent weeks, and by some estimates, 3% of GDP is lost annually in the Philippines from climate change-driven extreme weather.
While the Philippines is highly exposed to natural hazards by virtue of its geography, there is growing resolve among government and civil society to enhance climate adaptation and disaster resilience. And Canada is proud to be a partner in supporting such efforts.
Working with trusted implementing partners with strong links to national and local governments, our work includes supporting ecosystem restoration for enhanced livelihoods; assisting local governments to better assess, plan for, and implement disaster resilience and climate adaptation measures; implementing agro-forestry practices to enhance agricultural yields while protecting biodiversity in indigenous communities; and incentivizing the private sector to invest in climate adaptation. Across the three main island regions, our interventions engage with and respond to local community needs, address the differential impact on women and girls, and seek to model solutions that can subsequently be replicated and scaled.
Alongside adaptation and resilience efforts, the Philippines is also taking steps towards a clean energy transition as reflected in the update of the Philippine Energy Plan 2023-2050. Such a shift needs to go hand in hand with energy security and affordability without which societal buy-in and growth rates, among the highest in the ASEAN region, will be hard to sustain. This includes addressing the transition’s potentially adverse impacts on the labour force, while maximizing the upside such as skills training for the new renewable energy economy.
Canada is supporting the Philippines in taking on this challenge. First, we support technical assistance to government, including on policies and regulations related to decarbonization. Second, we support — mainly through our multilateral development bank partners — the financing required to enable the energy transition. Canada is the second largest donor to the Climate Investment Funds-Accelerating Coal Transition Initiative. The initiative’s Investment Plan for the Philippines, approved in June 2024, allocates $500 million (P29.3 billion) towards the early retirement or repurposing of coal-fired plants while supporting efforts to add renewable energy capacity and advancing a just transition.
But governments can’t do this alone. As important as public finance is for climate action, the private sector must play its role, both in terms of mobilizing financing and delivering technological solutions at scale to bring down costs and accelerate the transition. And governments would do well to focus efforts on promoting private sector investment and innovation.
At the regional level, including in the Philippines, Canada is helping to incentivize the private sector’s role on climate action, including by de-risking investments. For example, in June of this year we launched — along with the ADB — a new CA$360-million (P15.1 billion) fund to support private sector climate action and nature-based solutions in the region. This builds upon the CA$750 million (P31.5 billion) of additional capitalization to FinDev Canada (our bilateral development finance institute) announced alongside the launch of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, and for which climate action (in the infrastructure, agri-business and forestry sectors) is a top priority.
Canada’s private sector is also at the leading edge of climate solutions ranging from energy efficiency, microgrid and smart grids to hydro power, carbon capture, and hydrogen. And, of course, critical minerals are essential for the energy transition. The Philippines is blessed with an abundance of such mineral deposits, and Canadian extractive sector companies today — among the world’s foremost proponents of responsible mining — are well positioned to help further develop this sector. Important in achieving this goal is a stable and predictable regulatory regime, incentive structures that are fit for purpose, and the ability to secure social license. It should be possible to address the real concerns of affected communities including indigenous peoples, respect the rights of environmental defenders engaged in peaceful advocacy, and promote sustainable and environmentally sound extraction of critical minerals — not easy, but possible, and, I would argue, essential. This is Canada’s learned experience.
Climate action is already a cornerstone of Canada’s partnership with the Philippines. Of the CA$94.2 million (P3.9 billion) in international assistance allocated for the Philippines in Canada’s 2022-2023 fiscal year, coinciding with the launch of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, at least two-thirds went to support climate action and disaster resilience.
I look forward to the continued growth of our partnership and portfolio in the months and years ahead. – Rappler.com
David Hartman is Canada’s ambassador to the Philippines.
