Philippines seeks redefinition of climate finance for developing countries

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines calls for the inclusion of needs and priorities of developing countries in the definition of “climate finance.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs said the Philippines called for the adoption of a transformational and operational definition of climate finance to include the principles or characteristics of the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) at the fifth High-Level Ministerial Dialogue on Climate Finance of the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP27, in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt on Monday.

The NCQG is the new set of climate financial support that takes account the needs and priorities of developing countries from a base of $100 billion per year.

The Philippines asked for a delivery plan for achieving the $100 billion minimum that focuses on adaptation financing, scaling up climate finance grants, and streamlining access to financing.

The country also stated that financial mechanisms should be based on the best available science and technologies.

Philippine Ambassador to Egypt Ezzedin Tago said the collective ambition of scaling up climate action should be anchored on a transparent, accessible, predictable and efficient mobilization of climate finance as he highlighted the need for swift and effective initiatives.

“Let us all work to break down the barriers to ambitious climate finance. Let us all endeavor for a climate finance that offers more sustainable results,” Tago said.

The dialogue was moderated by the ministers of Maldives and Finland. States parties shared the challenges and key areas of progress in climate finance, how the delivery and transparency of climate financing can be further enhanced, and lessons learned that can be applied to deliberations on the new collective quantified goal.