PHL urges Western economies to act now vs climate change

The Philippines has called on Western economies that are largely responsible for the most greenhouse gas emissions to act now in significantly reducing their carbon footprints, and to make good on their commitments to extend the financing needed by climate-vulnerable countries to transition to a clean energy future.

Speaking on behalf of the Philippines, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said at the opening of the virtual 2021 Annual Meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) that he wants to see the decades-old discussions on how to fight climate change translated into concrete actions now.

He thanked the AIIB, led by President Jin Liqun, for focusing on the climate crisis in this year’s meeting as “this should help signal that the period for merely talking about climate change should now move towards implementation of actual projects on the ground.”

Secretary Dominguez also expressed his appreciation to the AIIB for the opportunity given to climate-vulnerable economies in Asia to collaborate with the Bank in accessing financing to help reduce their carbon emissions and proceed with climate-resilient initiatives.

Even though the Philippines is not yet a financial powerhouse, “we are determined to punch above our weight class in green and climate finance” so that it can lead in terms of mainstreaming climate change through the financial sector, Secretary Dominguez said.

“Clearly, the Philippines is moving with urgency. But we have seen very little funding and actions promised by Western countries materialize. All that has been done is talk without concrete action,” Secretary Dominguez said at the AIIB Flagship Seminar on the Paris Agreement held virtually Wednesday night (Manila time).

“We need the Western countries to take responsibility for having contributed and continue to contribute the most to greenhouse gas emissions. They must be given the greater burden of paying for the grants, investments, and subsidies needed for the most climate-vulnerable countries to mitigate the effects of global warming,” Secretary Dominguez added.

Secretary Dominguez said these countries have “avoided the pain by buying their way out of their global obligations,” which include offering developing nations money that are insufficient to make the carbon reductions that they themselves are unwilling to make in their own economies.

“Because of this, very little has been achieved in mitigating climate change,” he said.

He said that to demonstrate how developing countries can mainstream climate change in the financial sector, the Philippines will showcase its Sustainable Finance Roadmap at the 26th United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) to be held in Glasgow, Scotland next week.

Secretary Dominguez said this masterplan also shows that the Philippines intends to be at the forefront of the global fight against climate change, and remains true to its bold and ambitious commitment to the Paris Agreement to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent over the next decade even though it contributes only 0.3 percent to the planet’s total emissions.

“We are hitting the ground running with simultaneous initiatives to demonstrate that much can be done by clear and coherent financial policies that give primacy to the environment. We hope our Sustainable Finance Roadmap will inspire other developing countries towards adopting the appropriate finance policies that will help reduce carbon emissions,” Secretary Dominguez said.

This Sustainable Finance Roadmap, developed by the Philippines’ “Green Force” of agencies led by the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), synergizes public and private investments in green projects and sets the guiding principles that will create the environment for greener policies.

“Financial policies incentivizing green and renewable investments, supported by a complete policy framework guiding government action, eventually affect the bottom line of private businesses. These financial policies can be powerful instruments to encourage enterprises to be more conscious of their effects on the climate,” Secretary Dominguez said.

The Philippine government is also pushing the congressional passage of a law banning single-use plastics to urge Filipinos to do their part on a daily basis in saving the world’s environment.

It will likewise launch soon a landmark project that will accelerate the country’s transition from coal to clean energy, he said.

Secretary Dominguez also said the Climate Change Commission (CCC), of which he is chairman-designate, had reconstituted its experts’ panel, which eventually identified the Philippines’ Top 10 climate-induced risks and proposed strategies on how to address these through actionable programs, especially in communities most vulnerable to the ill effects of this environmental crisis.

When asked during the AIIB forum what would be the biggest success that he wants to see from the COP26, Secretary Dominguez reiterated his call for the signatories to stop talking and start acting now.

“We want to see from the COP26 meeting a clear transition of the Paris Agreement from being a platform for discussion to a springboard for concrete action,” he said.

“This is the 26th time that the COP will be meeting. Yet, little action has been taken. Nothing would please us more than seeing the countries that emitted and continue to emit the most greenhouse gasses to accept the responsibility of financing the transition to carbon neutrality,” he added.

Secretary Dominguez said the Philippines would want to “see all nations in the COP26 meeting affirm the need for climate justice. Those who have polluted and continue to pollute the most must bear the largest financial burden.”