Green fund made more accessible to communities

MANILA, Philippines — The government has launched a website that will allow more communities to avail themselves of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which was created to support the efforts of developing countries to respond to the challenge of climate change.

The Green Climate Fund Philippines website can be accessed via https://www.gov.ph/web/green-climate-fund/home. 

The website aims to inform the public on the GCF processes and policies, as well as provide timely advisories and updates relative to the country’s activities to access the fund, according to Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda. 

“Through this website, we hope to reach more people, communities, and organizations who may need to access the Fund,” said Legarda, Antique representative and member of the GCF Board.

Legarda said the international community established the GCF to deliver equal amounts of funding to mitigation and adaptation, adding that the fund is meant to serve the 2016 Paris Agreement goal of limiting global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius and even further to 1.5 degrees. 

“The country continues to experience extreme weather events like flooding, landslides and drought, which we are also seeing worldwide such as in the catastrophic wildfires. The stakes have never been higher,” Legarda said. 

In November last year, the Philippines secured a $10-million grant from the GCF for the establishment of an impact-based forecasting and early warning system to communities at risk of natural hazards. 

The GCF funding will be channeled to the Land Bank of the Philippines, while the project will be implemented by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. 

“We invite the public to visit the GCF-Philippines website to be informed of important announcements and events as we strive to secure more climate finance for our vulnerable communities,” Legarda said. 

To date, the GCF has approved a total of 124 projects amounting to $5.6 billion.

The GCF was set up by 194 countries that are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.