P1-B climate adaptation fund for LGUs in the pipeline

MANILA, Philippines - The government is setting up a climate mitigation and adaptation fund, initially worth P1 billion, to assist local government units (LGUs) in coping with climate change, the Department of Finance (DOF) said yesterday.

The agency said it would soon establish the People’s Survival Fund (PSF) to finance local climate adaptation measures and projects and serve as cushion for affected families and workers.

“Specifically, the fund is intended for adaptation activities that include water resources management, land management, agriculture and fisheries, health, among others,” the DOF said.

“(It will also) serve as guarantee for risk insurance needs for farmers, agriculture workers and other stakeholders,” it added.

The fund will be established pursuant to RA 10174 signed in 2012 which provided for long-term financial streams for the government to effectively address the threat of a changing climate.

The DOF said the money would be sourced from the 2015 budget of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

A PSF Board, to be headed by the Secretary of Finance, will manage the fund. He will be joined by his or her counterparts from the Department of Budget and Management, Climate Change Commission, National Economic and Development Authority, Philippine Commission on Women and Department of Interior and Local Government.

Representatives from the academe, business sector, scientific community and non-government organizations will also be sitting in the board.

According to DOF, LGUs that would want access to the fund would have to send project proposals to the PSF Board for approval. The fund will not be used as a disaster relief mechanism, and will strictly be for mitigation purposes.

Among others, projects that could be financed by the fund include purchase and establishment of weather forecasting and early warning systems, technical assistance for institutional development and capacity building measures for disaster preparedness.

“In the Vulnerable 20 (V20) Summit last October 9, we led a call for concerted action against climate change…The PSF is an example of the government’s commitment to protecting those most vulnerable from the effects of climate change,” the DOF said.

The Philippines sits as the chair of the V20 Group of nations that are most prone to climate change. Two weeks ago, the group had its inaugural meeting in Peru where an intergovernmental climate pool of fund was also agreed to be set up.

According to V20 estimates, the group lost around $45 billion in 2010 to natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes. The amount is expected to increase 10-fold to $418 billion by 2030.

Led by the Philippines, the V20 also groups Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bhutan, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Kiribati, Madagascar, Maldives, Nepal, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.