THE Climate Change Commission (CCC), along with the Department of Natural Resources (DENR) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Philippines, outlined a national plan for climate-related loss and damage.
The plan aims to build a framework for long-term action for communities vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.
Environment Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said as the Philippines takes on the role of host of the Board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), the country is strengthening its efforts to ensure concrete actions are in place that can help communities handle increasing climate impacts.
“Recognizing these growing challenges, the Philippines is developing a national Climate-related Loss and Damage Framework and Strategy that will guide how government, development partners, and other stakeholders work together to support communities affected by climate impacts,” Cuna said.
The strategy seeks to strengthen coordination, improve access to financing, enhance knowledge and data systems, and ensure that assistance reaches disaster-stricken areas.
The environment chief also said the impact of climate change can hamper years of development.
“Where climate impacts exceed the limits of adaptation, they can erase years of development gains, deepen poverty and inequality, and cause non-economic losses, from cultural heritage and ecosystems to community ties, that are difficult to measure and impossible to fully recover,” he said.
UNDP Philippines is applying its global experience to help the country integrate loss and damage into national planning, finance systems and climate data.
To lead this effort, the country launched the Development Partners Coordination Group on Climate-related Loss and Damage (L&D-DPCG).
This new platform aligns international technical and financial support with national priorities, reduces duplication, and mobilizes resources for vulnerable communities.
Co-chaired by the DENR, CCC, and UNDP Philippines, the group aims to reduce fragmentation, identify gaps, and mobilize resources for vulnerable communities.
“Loss and damage is already a development reality for the Philippines. How the country addresses it will determine whether hard-won gains in poverty reduction and resilience can be protected, and engaging now places the Philippines in a position to shape global responses and access emerging finance,” said UNDP Resident Representative in the Philippines Christophe Bahuet.
“As lead of the development partners, a role entrusted by the government, UNDP will help bring partners together behind this agenda and help turn it into concrete support for the communities most affected,” he added.
Meanwhile, CCC Assistant Secretary Rommel Cuenca emphasized the need to collectively address the issue by ensuring international support is aligned with local needs.
To move from discussion to action, government agencies and international partners agreed to establish two main workstreams. Thematic workstreams, led by the International Organization for Migration, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the UNDP, will tackle specific climate damage issues, while systems workstreams, led by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, and the United Nations Development Programme, will focus on strengthening local capacity and institutions.
They will work with local government agencies to drive policies, funding and local solutions to boost the nation's climate response.
