Latest news with #FRLD
GMA Network
a day ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
Philippines urges countries to help sustain Loss and Damage Fund
Rescuers assist residents on a boat along a flooded road following heavy rains brought by the Habagat enhanced by Super Typhoon Carina, in Marikina City on July 24, 2024. REUTERS/ Lisa Marie David The Philippines has asked countries to help sustain the fund aimed at providing assistance to nations that are most at risk from the effects of climate change, warning that the price of inaction is "far too high." At the sixth meeting of the Board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, on Wednesday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said through Environment Secretary Raphael Lotilla that the initial allocation of $250 million for 2025–2026 was a 'crucial step forward,' but the fund must also be 'fair, future-ready, and responsive to those who need help.' ''What's at stake here demands urgency and action. Let us not lose sight of what led us to fight for the establishment of the fund. When it comes to addressing loss and damage, business as usual is not an option. Every delay means more families without shelter, more livelihoods disrupted, and, worse, more lives lost. The cost of inaction is far too high,'' Marcos said. The President said the fund must be "swift, accessible, and human-centered, attuned to the needs of vulnerable countries and communities." ''We also call on the international community to stand with us, to help sustain this fund, and to fulfill its promises. The collective will of nations must rise higher than the seas, burn brighter than a warming world, and move faster than the storms that endanger us,'' he said. The Philippines hosts the board of the FRLD, which was operationalized at the COP 28 UN Climate Change Conference in December 2023. As of June 27, wealthy nations had forwarded $348 million out of the total pledges worth around $789 million, according to the World Bank, the fund's interim trustee. Australia, Canada, Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United States are among the nations that have contributed to the fund. For environmental group Greenpeace, the so-called "climate polluters" should bear the responsibility for loss and damage. In a statement, Greenpeace Philippines said Marcos should demand payment for climate loss and damage from fossil fuel companies and rich nations, call for an end to oil and gas expansion and for a fossil fuel phaseout, expedite the passage of the Climate Accountability Bill, and begin the process of litigating the world's biggest oil and gas companies for climate impact damages to the Filipino people. 'Those most responsible for the climate and environmental emergency must be held accountable by paying their fair share. And the Philippines can lead the way in making this happen,'' said Greenpeace Philippines campaigner Jefferson Chua. The Philippines is among the least emitters of greenhouse gases that cause global warming, yet it is directly hit by the effects of climate change, such as droughts and strong tropical cyclones. As part of efforts to curtail the effects of climate change, the Philippines joined nearly 200 countries in a landmark deal in Paris in December 2015 to cut greenhouse gas emissions to limit the rise in global temperatures to below 2 degrees Celsius. ''Year after year we endure the harshest blows of the climate crisis, from typhoons that destroyed towns to rising seas that threatened our coastal communities,'' Marcos said. ''Other vulnerable nations share this struggle, this burden, and this collective call for climate justice. It is for them and with them that this fund was created.'' —GMA Integrated News
Scoop
2 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Developing Countries Decry "Problematic" Loss And Damage Finance Gap As Global 'Fill The Fund' Campaign Launched
July 10, 2025 Developing country representatives on the Board of the UN's Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) have issued a critical joint statement expressing concerns over the scale and status of resources, noting that a lack of transparency from contributors is 'severely limiting' the ability to program funds and reducing confidence in the long-term commitment of partners. The statement was issued during the Fund's 6th Board Meeting in Cebu, Philippines. The statement from the developing country constituency highlights that while funding needs for economic damages alone are estimated to be around USD 395 billion in 2025, only USD 348 million is currently available in the Fund. This comes after total pledges of USD 788.68 million, revealing a significant gap between promises and payments. The constituency underscored the "urgent and immediate need for new, additional, predictable and adequate financial resources" to help developing countries respond to escalating climate disasters. The developing country constituency maintains its position that the Fund must program at least USD 100 billion a year by 2030 as a minimum and called for the Board to shift its priorities towards launching an initial capitalization and replenishment process that goes "far beyond the initial pledges.' The press conference featured an important video statement from H.E. Jotham Napat, Prime Minister of Vanuatu, who highlighted the need to scale up funds to address the actual needs of developing countries. NEW Global Campaign - 'FILL THE FUND' Launched: In direct response to this crisis of inaction, a global coalition of climate justice movements and civil society groups representing thousands of organizations launched 'Fill The Fund,' a new global campaign to demand wealthy nations and corporate polluters meet their historical responsibility to pay for the climate crisis. H.E. Jotham Napat, Prime Minister of Vanuatu, in a recorded statement: "Pledges alone cannot rebuild what has been erased by the climate crisis in Vanuatu and across the world. A single cyclone caused over $500 million in damages, yet we are capped at receiving just $20 million a year from the Loss and Damage Fund. 'The question now is whether the fund will be able to mobilize the scale of resources needed to meet the moment and deliver—especially when we consider that children in developing countries suffer more than $400 billion in impacts annually." Elena Cristina Pereira Colindres, FRLD Board Member (Honduras), speaking on behalf of the G77 constituency: "The current financial situation and the lack of clarity on the overall scale of the Fund will likely affect the start-up phase and the long-term scaled financing needed from the Fund. 'We therefore raise the question of whether the Board should now shift its priorities towards launching an initial capitalisation and replenishment process of new, additional, predictable, and adequate resources at a scale that goes far beyond the initial pledges." Richard Sherman, Co-Chair, FRLD Board (South Africa), speaking in his national capacity: "We have to build the abacus, so to speak, of the fund's financial architecture: how we mobilize money, how we bank contributed funds, and how we disperse money to countries. Although this is a small step, it has a big, big, big footprint. 'We need to continue our work with vigilance, and with the support of civil society all around the world, to ensure the fund remains accessible, open, and inclusive—which is not necessarily a simple thing to do." Ambassador Elizabeth Thompson, FRLD Board Member (Barbados): "Middle-income nations like Barbados are on the frontlines of climate impacts, yet we often cannot access the finance needed. When Hurricane Beryl struck us, we lost 90% of our fishing fleet and significant coastal infrastructure.' 'That is why the Board's decision in Barbados this past April was a critical step forward: it established the Barbados Implementation Modalities (BIM) and, crucially, ensured that 50% of the funding goes to LDCs and SIDs as grants, not loans." Daniel Lund, FRLD Board Member (Fiji): "Our red line—the imperative to keep the global average temperature rise below 1.5 degrees—is on the brink of being breached. Recent science suggests that an overshoot may be unavoidable.' "This must be a fund that works differently and thinks differently; one that can effectively work with national systems and be responsive to the needs on the ground. We must incentivize social protection and avoid the fragmentation and administrative burden that the current project-based financing regime continues to create." Harjeet Singh, Convenor of the new Global Campaign 'Fill The Fund' on Loss and Damage Finance, and Founding Director of Satat Sampada Climate Foundation: said at the launch event: 'The creation of this Fund was a historic victory, but it will be a meaningless one if it is not filled with new, additional, and accessible public grants. This campaign will unite the voices of thousands of organizations to demand that developed countries stop shirking their responsibilities. "The 'Fill The Fund' campaign will coordinate global advocacy, track pledges and payments through a public dashboard, and mobilize citizens to pressure governments ahead of key moments, including the COP30 climate conference in Belém, Brazil.' Claire Miranda, Deputy Program Manager for Climate Justice, APMDD (Philippines) and member of the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice (DCJ): "It is significant that the FRLD Board is meeting here in Cebu, one of the cities hardest hit by Super Typhoon Rai in 2021, which left a vast trail of death and devastation across our country. 'Bringing the Board discussions here is not just symbolic; it is a reminder of who this fund must serve. But symbolism is not enough. We need substance. We need decisions that move us from delay to delivery, from pledges to actual contributions, and from rhetoric to real reparations. We need to fill the fund." Tasneem Essop, Executive Director, Climate Action Network International: 'The establishment of the Loss and Damage Fund was a major political achievement, thanks to the leadership and pressure from civil society and developing countries. However, the real test will be how this Fund is filled. With increasingly devastating climate impacts, felt mainly in the Global South, we are talking billions, not millions, that are needed for recovery and rebuilding. 'Rich nations, who caused harm historically, must pay up. We are talking about public, grants-based finance. The attempts by the World Bank to get the private sector involved in financing the Fund is yet another escape clause for rich nations. You cannot profit off of suffering. Rich nations must pay their dues. They can find the money to fund wars and subsidise fossil fuels, so there can be no argument that there is no money.' Brandon Wu, Director of Policy and Campaigns, ActionAid USA: "When rich countries say they don't have the money to contribute to global climate solutions, it's a bluff. In this fiscal year alone, the US government plans to spend nearly $200 billion on border security and immigration enforcement. That is almost 11,000 times more than its paltry $17.5 million contribution to the Loss and Damage Fund - money that will go towards persecuting everyday people rather than supporting their needs. "This has never been about a lack of resources; it has always been about a lack of political will. When those in power decide something is a priority, they can mobilize untold amounts of money at the drop of a hat. It's time that rich countries choose to prioritize survival and dignified life for billions of people around the world. Living up to their obligations to contribute to the FRLD is a core part of that choice." Liane Schalatek, Associate Director, Heinrich Böll Foundation Washington, DC, said: 'Only 358 million US Dollar in the bank when at least the same number in billions is needed per year – this is the sad state of efforts to mobilize financing to #FillTheFund for responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD). 'Announced with much fanfare at COP28 in Dubai 20 months ago, developed countries have so far failed to fulfill their legal obligation and moral duty to help marginalized people and vulnerable communities in developing countries to cope with ever more devastating extreme weather events with hurricanes, floods and droughts, glacier melt and sea level rise, and more and more lives and livelihoods lost. No more excuses and evasions. 'We need public grant finance delivered to the Fund in the billions as a matter of urgency and climate justice. If countries in the Global North can find money for military expansion, subsidizing fossil fuels, beefing up border controls and tax gifts for the richest, they can summon the resources to #PayUp4LossAndDamage - NOW!' Chiara Liguori, Climate Justice Senior Policy Adviser, Oxfam GB: 'The establishment of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage in 2022 was hailed as a historic moment. But little money has followed since then. We have only seen more excuses and delaying tactics. 'What would be really historic now is for rich countries to live up to their responsibilities, honour their obligations and pay up for the losses and damages they have caused. Only this would ensure justice to the people left displaced, hungry or sick by the reckless behaviour of the richest and biggest polluters.' Lien Vandamme, Senior Campaigner, Center for International Environmental Law, said: 'States and corporations with historic and current responsibility for the climate crisis have legal obligations to pay for the damage. While we celebrated the historic step taken at COP27 to establish a Loss and Damage Fund, this fund remains an empty shell and people and communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis have yet to receive the first penny. '2025 is the year to change this: as countries are discussing how to scale up resources of the Loss and Damage Fund, international courts are confirming State obligations to repair climate and environmental harm, at home and abroad. COP30 must tie all of this together and deliver a clear path forward towards the urgent delivery of hundreds of billions needed annually. The delay must end and polluters must pay.' Brenda Mwale, Finance Lead, Loss and Damage Collaboration, said: 'Adequate funding for the Loss and Damage fund is not merely a financial necessity; it constitutes human rights and legal imperative to address the disproportionate impacts of climate change on vulnerable nations. Sufficient resources are essential for supporting recovery efforts, and ensuring a more equitable global response to climate-induced disasters. 'The current state of resources in the Fund highlights the reluctance of developed countries to assume responsibility and support frontline communities at the scale required. This issue should be treated with urgency and see the delivery of Loss and Damage scale of at least 400 billion USD a year. The response to COVID-19, demonstrated the capacity and availability of resources to support vulnerable communities. The money is there! ' Ineza Umuhoza Grace & Nicolas Gaulin, Global Coordinators, Loss & Damage Youth Coalition, said: An empty Fund means more droughts, floods, and temperature extremes. An empty Fund means broken homes, displaced families, and unchecked destruction and disease. An empty Fund means foregoing development to pay for a crisis the primary victims didn't create. An empty Fund means developed countries continue to downplay and reject their historical responsibility in fueling the climate crisis. An empty Fund means no trust in real action. Developing countries and frontline communities have the right to new, additional, predictable, public, grants-based and easily accessible funds to survive and thrive. 'These funds are neither charity, nor development aid or investment opportunities. These funds are meant for equitable climate action that addresses real pain at the frontlines. Nothing short of trillions will rectify this egregious breach of justice and global solidarity, consistently perpetuated by a collective of wealthy nations. The Fund must be filled today, tomorrow, and until it matches the scale of needs on the ground. Nithi Nesadurai, Director & Regional Coordinator, Climate Action Network Southeast Asia, said: 'Given the increasing frequency of extreme weather events and their rising intensity, which are aggressively adding to the loss and damage being incurred in the developing world in particular, it is imperative that developed countries meet their obligations by contributing significantly to the Fund with immediate effect. Delay tactics cannot be tolerated anymore.' Dr. Isatis M. Cintron-Rodriguez, Founder and Director, Climate Trace, Puerto Rico, said: "Trust is in high demand and as the currency for climate justice it hinges on developed countries stepping up with public finance that is new, additional, high quality, non-debt inducing, and commensurate with the harm incurred. Anything less risk turning a promise into betrayal for the world's most affected communities."
The Wire
01-07-2025
- Business
- The Wire
Climate Finance Needs a Conductor
As the multilateral order comes under growing strain, several trends are becoming increasingly clear. International development assistance and climate finance appear to have peaked, even as global needs continue to evolve. At the same time, international institutions, faced with mounting pressure to prove their efficiency and cost-effectiveness, are reassessing their operations. But today's climate-finance challenges demand more than introspection; they call for structural change, decisive action, and – above all – coordinated leadership. Climate finance is currently delivered through a broad array of institutions: multilateral bodies like the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the newly established Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD); multilateral development banks (MDBs); and an ever-expanding network of philanthropic, national, and regional initiatives. Each was created to fill a perceived functional or political gap. Collectively, however, they form a sprawling and often unwieldy sprawl creates two major challenges. First, it fosters unhealthy competition. Many of these institutions draw on the same pool of donors, serve similar recipient countries, and have overlapping mandates. The result is a bureaucratic maze and high transaction costs, with recipient countries often spending more time navigating the system than accessing its benefits. As a 2024 report by the G20's climate-finance working group warned, fragmented and inefficient access mechanisms are among the most significant obstacles to effective climate action. Second, and paradoxically, this competition also leads to inertia, because institutions, protective of their respective niches, become increasingly reluctant to depart from established practices. While differences in size and financial terms should enable climate funds and MDBs to serve distinct, complementary roles, in practice their policies and portfolios often converge. The FRLD is a striking example. When the need for a dedicated mechanism to address loss and damage became urgent, no existing institution was equipped – or willing – to take the lead, so a new entity had to be competition for resources and inertia regarding evolving challenges are only part of the issue. The deeper challenge lies in fragmented governance. Despite repeated calls to improve coordination, meaningful alignment remains elusive, largely because climate-finance institutions operate under fundamentally different governance structures. The GCF, GEF, FRLD, Adaptation Fund, and Climate Investment Funds all report to separate governing bodies, each with its own mandate and varying degrees of alignment with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). MDBs answer to their shareholders, while bilateral and philanthropic organisations are driven by domestic or private agendas. As a result, no single body is capable of overseeing or steering the entire doesn't just hinder strategic planning; it also distorts access. Each institution has its own rules, timelines, and application requirements, creating a patchwork of uncoordinated and inconsistent processes. Recipient countries must navigate multiple systems, often with limited institutional capacity, making access to climate finance burdensome and uneven. A recent synthesis report report by the GCF's Independent Evaluation Unit underscores the need for structural reform, finding that climate finance tends to flow to countries that already have access to traditional development financing. While this may seem intuitive, it is also deeply troubling. The implication is that countries with greater institutional capacity and experience with complex funding mechanisms are better positioned to secure climate finance, leaving the world's most vulnerable regions systematically there is a broad consensus that access should be faster and simpler, why does it remain so difficult to achieve? The answer is that facilitating climate finance is not just a technical challenge. As the GCF synthesis report notes, real progress requires more than procedural tweaks. It calls for governance structures tailored to the specific needs of fragile and capacity- constrained countries, sustained investment in institutional capacity, and an equitable distribution addition to creating inefficiencies, fragmented governance deepens inequality. Without sufficient specialisation, a willingness to break with the status quo, and a dose of institutional innovation, climate finance will continue to flow to countries with stronger institutions and fuller project pipelines. What climate finance urgently needs is a coordinating mechanism, coalition, or platform with the authority to review the current architecture and guide institutions toward more specialised, complementary roles – much like a conductor bringing harmony to an otherwise disorganised orchestra. And this is the fundamental challenge: the absence of a decision-making platform tasked with steering the evolution of climate finance architecture. While the G20 has made climate finance a top priority and addressed several issues related to the broader financial architecture, its limited membership means it lacks universal representation. The UNFCCC can direct funds within its own financing mechanism, but it is slow-moving and lacks the mandate to regulate MDBs and other actors. Similarly, the UN Environment Assembly may not have the necessary speed, scope, or reach to lead this effort effectively. The upcoming Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) is a rare opportunity to address the institutional sprawl that impedes effective climate action. As a UN initiative, it offers both legitimacy and universal participation. While not a climate summit, it is one of the few platforms where climate finance intersects with broader questions of development, debt, and institutional reform. The FfD4 draft outcome document rightly urges international policymakers to prevent the further proliferation of climate funds, calling for greater integration among existing mechanisms. But it may need to go further by offering clear guidance on how the various components of climate finance can work together more effectively. Even if FfD4 does not resolve these questions, it could still play a pivotal role in identifying the coordinating force needed to ensure the coherence of climate finance.
GMA Network
27-05-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
Marcos asks oil-rich Arab nations for contributions to Loss and Damage Fund
Security force members use an inflatable raft to bring residents to safety from a flooded area near the bank of the overflowing Bagmati River following heavy rains, in Kathmandu, Nepal, September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar KUALA LUMPUR - Philippine President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. asked oil-rich Arab countries for contributions to the Loss and Damage Fund. During the 2nd ASEAN – Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit, Marcos emphasized that climate change remains ''one of the most defining challenges of our time—not the most defining challenge of our time.'' ''Both our regions are climate vulnerable,'' Marcos said. ''Our populations face significant climate-related risks, such as sea level rise, rising temperatures, desertification, and loss of biodiversity, amongst others. As host of the Fund Corresponding to Loss and Damage, or FRLD, the Philippines would like to encourage contributions through that fund,'' he added. The member states of the GCC include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Marcos said the Philippines' hosting of the FRLD would accelerate the unhindered access of developing nations to climate finance. This shall help in the development and implementation of transformative and science-based strategies and initiatives for climate change adaptation, mitigation, and disaster risk management, Marcos said. Marcos has made a commitment to push for evidence-based solutions in addressing the impacts of climate change, adding that its unprecedented impact has the potential to disrupt communities and supply chains. The Philippines was elected to host the Loss and Damage Board in July 2024. The Loss and Damage Fund aims to provide financial assistance to vulnerable countries dealing with the devastating effects of climate change. — VBL, GMA Integrated News
Gulf Today
18-05-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
NDCs must serve as national development blueprints: UAE
Abdulla Balalaa, Assistant Foreign Minister for Energy and Sustainability, led the United Arab Emirates (UAE) delegation to the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial, alongside ministers and climate leaders from around the world, to advance COP28's outputs and set the course towards COP30. Held from May 7-8, the meeting represents an important milestone, marking 10 years since the adoption of the Paris Agreement and the halfway point through the critical decade to keep the 1.5°C goal within reach. Balalaa represented the COP28 Presidency in the Troika High-Level Dialogue on Long-Term Development Planning, co-chaired by the COP28, COP29, and COP30 Presidencies. The session explored how Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) can serve as strategic instruments for sustainable development, investment mobilisation, and institutional resilience. 'As the initiators of the Troika Roadmap to Mission 1.5, the UAE firmly believes that NDCs must move beyond pledges. They must serve as national development blueprints – integrating investment, inclusion, and resilience,' said Balalaa during his intervention. On the sidelines of the meeting, Balalaa held several bilateral meetings with key partners, including the Minister of Climate Change of kingdom of Norway, Deputy Danish Minister of Energy, Climate, and Utilities; Denmark's Minister of Environment and Gender Equality. He also held several meetings with CEOs of private sector water & renewable energy companies such as Vestas the pioneer company in wind turbines, Copenhagen infrastructure partners (CIP), and AVK, one of the largest holding company in water solutions. In these engagements, Balalaa reaffirmed the UAE's commitment to leading the implementation of the Baku Climate Unity Pact, which includes initializing the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) and advancing the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG). Furthermore, the UAE emphasized its role as a climate finance pioneer, referencing its USD 100 million contributions to both the FRLD and the Global Flaring and Methane Reduction (GFMR) Fund, as well as the launch of the $30 billion ALTÉRRA platform to unlock transformational finance and catalyse private sector engagement. In addition, Balalaa highlighted the UAE's commitment to sustainable development through its co-hosting of the United Nations Water Conference 2026 (UNWC) alongside Senegal. This pivotal event will link water security, climate resilience, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the goals of the Paris Agreement. The UAE views water action as inseparable from climate action and remains committed to driving global cooperation for a resilient and sustainable future for generations to come. This participation reflects the UAE's ongoing diplomatic efforts to build international support for global climate action, following the signing of the historic 'UAE Consensus,' reached at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), held in Expo City in Dubai in 2023. These endeavors aim to accelerate progress across adaptation, energy transition, and resilience in the lead-up to COP30, which will be held in Belém, Brazil the coming November. Recently, Balalaa led the UAE delegation at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, where he participated at the annual meeting's high-level sessions, alongside the Federal Chancellor of Germany and several ministers. He also held a series of ministerial meetings in Berlin, reaffirming the UAE's commitment to international cooperation across climate action, energy transition, water resource management and sustainable development. During his visit, Balalaa met several prominent German and international officials, including Stefan Wenzel, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action; Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development; Eva Kracht, Director-General for International Affairs at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety; and Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). WAM
