UNDP, DOF to craft climate finance strategy

MANILA, Philippines — The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Department of Finance (DOF) will craft a climate finance strategy to mobilize needed resources for the Philippines.

In a statement, UNDP said it would develop a comprehensive strategy for climate finance in the Philippines in a bid to consolidate financing solutions for climate change action in the country.

UNDP Philippines representative Selva Ramachandran said the Sustainable Development Goal 13 or climate action is urgently needed in the country, evident in the effects of recent typhoons.

Aside from adaptation and mitigation measures, Ramachandran said the climate crisis demands financing to make all actions possible.

As such, the climate finance strategy aims to mobilize resources for climate action projects, consolidate funding from disparate sources, align public spending to the national development agenda and encourage climate-friendly investments and innovations from the private sector.

The new strategy carves out a financing program from the Sustainable Finance Roadmap by the Green Force to focus on climate finance solutions.

It also builds on funding opportunities for projects drawn from the National Adaptation Plan and the Nationally Determined Contributions Implementation Plan by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Climate Change Commission.

The DOF, for its part, maintained that financing projects are commitments to empower local government units and national government agencies to stand on the forefront of climate action.

Further, the UNDP and DOF aim to bridge the gap on how the Philippines can access the international climate finance fund.