This week in London, the UK’s new Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, made his first major speech since the elections. He chose for that to be on climate change, nature and clean energy. He called climate and nature loss “the most profound and universal source of global disorder,” and made clear that action on climate is action on our security, our prosperity and on our future. As such, he set out that action on the climate and nature crisis will be central to all the Foreign Office does.
These are powerful marching orders from our Foreign Secretary. They give renewed impetus to the work that we do here in the Philippines, a country on the front lines of the climate crisis, and with which the UK already has very strong partnerships on nature and climate.
The Foreign Secretary set out that we will further increase our ambition through three priorities:
Accelerating the clean energy transition
The clean energy transition offers an epochal opportunity for global economic growth – but it comes with significant challenges.
This is why the Foreign Secretary announced that we will be building a new Global Clean Power Alliance to accelerate the transition and tackle the challenges to delivering clean power, including finance and supply chains. The Alliance will bring together a coalition of countries at the cutting edge of climate action who share our ambition. I very much hope that the Philippines will take part.
A rapid transition, which mobilizes investment and creates thousands of green jobs, is feasible. Just ten years ago, the UK relied on coal for over 40 percent of our energy generation. But on Sept. 30, the country’s final coal power plant will cease operations, marking the end of domestic coal power generation in the UK. In the same period, we have seen offshore wind increase to 28 percent of generation and installed enough solar to power 4.5 million homes.
I am proud that the UK is partnering with the Philippines in its own transition. The UK-Philippines co-chairing of the Philippines National Energy Transition Council this October will be the next opportunity to align our efforts with international and private sector partners to address the barriers to clean energy deployment.
Unlocking more climate finance
The impacts of climate change are already being acutely felt across the Philippines. From heat waves and drought, through to flooding and sea level rises which are destroying livelihoods. There is now no path to a sustainable future without funding for climate adaptation and resilience to go alongside the clean energy transition.
We know that finance will be essential to deliver on our global commitments. So the Foreign Secretary committed to unlock more climate finance by leveraging the City of London’s position as a leading global green financial center, developing innovative financing models to attract more private investment and driving reforms across the global financial system.
For example, in June the UK Government acted as the anchor investor in the IPO of Citicore Renewable Energy Corporation on the Philippine Stock Exchange. Our investment helped catalyze a total listing of $86 million. Meanwhile, a particular highlight of recent UK-Philippines collaboration has been the National Adaptation Plan. We are now working to unlock private finance for priority adaptation projects in the country, including for the blue economy.
Reversing biodiversity loss
The Foreign Secretary set out that we will reverse and halt the decline in global biodiversity.
The Philippines is a jewel in the crown of our planet’s biodiversity. It maintains five percent of the world’s flora and around 52,000 species, half of which are found nowhere else on earth. That is astounding and something we must work hard to protect. But here, as the world over, species and ecosystems are threatened by the changing climate. Biodiversity loss is as much of a threat as changes to our climate.
Our two countries have been at the forefront of efforts to protect at least 30 percent of the planet’s land, fresh waters and oceans by 2030. This year, the UK is providing over P200 million in grants to support local organizations in the Philippines to address biodiversity loss. We are helping communities restore mangroves to serve as nurseries for marine life and to protect human settlements from storm surges. We have partnered with organizations to protect crocodiles in Cagayan and Isabela, pangolins in Palawan and caribou in Mindoro. Our support to the Biofin project is finding innovative ways to generate additional finance for biodiversity projects – including launching the Animal Town app for mobile gamers.
Looking ahead
Credibility in addressing climate change should be a point of national pride. What we do now has enormous potential to shape our future options. We must work together and hold each other accountable. Coordinated action can lead to faster innovation, stronger incentives for investment and collective buy-in from local communities up to national government.
In 2025 we will celebrate a half decade of enhanced climate and nature cooperation during the fifth UK-Philippines Climate and Environment Dialogue. We will use this as our platform to work, in partnership, to keep 1.5 degrees alive, halt and reverse biodiversity loss and empower communities to adapt to climate impacts. Together, we can build a better, more sustainable future for all.
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Laure Beaufils is the UK Ambassador to the Philippines.