When it comes to climate change, there is good news. Scientists
and innovators have already created many of the tools and
strategies needed to adapt to, mitigate, or even solve the climate
crisis. The costs, however, can be extremely high. With world
leaders gathering in Glasgow for COP26 this November, the
value of global partnerships is clear. Now, one partner is needed
more than ever: the fi nancial community.
The Republic of the Philippines is on the front lines of the
climate crisis. As sea levels, storms, and extreme weather rise
with global temperatures, this nation of islands in the Asia
Pacifi c and its 110 million people is among the most vulnerable.
The country is not yet a fi nancial powerhouse. Nonetheless, the
Philippines is determined to punch above its weight class in
green and climate fi nance.
“We want to show how a developing country like the Philippines
can lead in terms of mainstreaming climate change through the
fi nancial sector,’’ says Secretary of Finance Carlos Dominguez.
In April, the Philippines submitted its fi rst nationally determined
contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement. The country
pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent
by 2030, of which 2.7 percent is unconditional and 72.3 percent
is conditional. The pledge covers the agriculture, waste, industry,
transport, and energy sectors. That is a huge challenge. It
requires a broad range of actions including a moratorium on
new coal power plants, conversion to renewable energy, and
require $121 billion over 20 years.
To marshal funding, the country needs the participation of
governments, businesses, and civil society both at home and
abroad. The goal is to create an effective blend of international
and domestic public and private fi nance and investment.
The Philippines, with the assistance of the United Kingdom, has
drawn up a Sustainable Finance Roadmap to organize climate
funding and a set of Sustainable Finance Guiding Principles for
the country. Both address gaps in the promotion of sustainable
investments through fi nance and facilitate investments in public
and private infrastructure.
The country’s banks and private companies are playing their
part. Since 2017, seven commercial banks have issued more
than $2.7 billion worth of green, social, and sustainability bonds.
As of September 2021, Philippine companies had issued $4.8
billion worth of ASEAN-labeled Green, Social, and Sustainability
(GSS) Bonds, equivalent to 29 percent of the total ASEAN-
labeled GSS Bond issuances.
Through the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation, the
government is also expanding protections to farmers from crop
losses while reinforcing risk mitigation and resilience efforts. The
Department of Finance is also pushing for the passage of a bill
banning single-use plastics to reduce marine pollution.
Much more, however, must be done. As new technologies are
scaled up, workforces need to be retrained.
Just as the Philippines is marshaling fi nancial resources, it
is also mobilizing ideas. At COP26, the Philippines, through
Secretary Dominguez, will discuss how the fi nancial sector can
make a difference in climate change by charting a course for
the mainstreaming of climate and sustainable fi nance. Asian
Development Bank President Masatsugu Asakawa and Vice
President for East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacifi c Ahmed M.
Saeed, as well as US Deputy Special Envoy for Climate Jonathan
Pershing will join Secretary Dominguez for this conversation.
The rewards for achieving that goal will be priceless. “Low
carbon approaches to help mitigate this climate crisis will
make our economy more resilient and our growth sustainable,”
Dominguez says.
Should the Philippines’ roadmap for green fi nancing prove
successful, it will give a green light to other developing countries
to follow a similar path.
THE PHILIPPINES IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF RECRUITING THE FINANCIAL SECTOR TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CLIMATE INVESTMENTS, VISIT WWW .PHILIPPINES.BUSINESS/GREEN-FINANCE
FOR SUSTAINABLE FINANCE
A GREEN LIGHT
