PH signs hosting of loss and damage fund board

Metro Manila, Philippines — The Philippines has formalized its hosting of the international fund board that would respond to the adverse effects of climate change.

Environment Secretary Toni Yulo-Loyzaga signed the host country agreement on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan.

This meant that the Philippines bears the legal personality and capacity of the Board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage. It would also host the board’s official business.

Loyzaga said the Philippines has a “deep and personal stake” to see the success of the financial mechanism.

“By hosting the board of the Fund, we are invested in its dynamic and far-reaching mission of cooperation and solidarity by making resources accessible to those who need it the most,” she added.

The ceremony included the signing of the Trustee Agreement and the Secretariat Hosting Agreement between the board and the World Bank.

COP29 president Mukhtar Babayev said that “funding will be able to flow in 2025.”

Babayev said the “breakthrough” means “houses being rebuilt, people being resettled, and lives and livelihoods saved.”

“Now the Fund needs to identify projects to get long-awaited support flowing,” he said. “All countries that have pledged money must complete their contributor agreements. And we call for more pledges to the Fund so we can meet the urgent needs of climate change victims.”

According to the UN Environment Programme, loss and damage refers to the “unavoidable and irreversible impacts” of the climate crisis despite efforts to address the causes of human-induced climate change and its impacts.

But the loss and damage fund has yet to have details, including funding commitments and scale, which are subject to negotiations at this year’s global climate conference.

The financial instrument has an initial capital of $720 million, which is still insufficient insofar as UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is concerned.

Loyzaga said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wanted to tell world leaders that the Philippines was “suffering from the unrelenting impacts” of successive typhoons, which could serve as a baseline for the board.

“The Philippines may be a test case for the Fund in responding to this unique, cumulative loss of lives and damage to critical infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, roads, water and power systems,” she said.

The country was elected host in July. In August, the Senate approved the required enabling bill. 

The board will meet for the first time in Manila in December.