Protest greets meeting of the int’l loss and damage fund board
Environmental groups protested earlier this week outside the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City, where the Board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) is holding a series of meetings from Monday to Thursday.
The eco-warriors led by Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment and Greenpeace Philippines criticized the refusal of the top climate polluters, composed of developed countries, to pay for climate finance that will help low-income countries mitigate climate change.
The United Nations defines loss and damage as the “consequences of climate change that go beyond what people can adapt to.”
Current pledges for the loss and damage fund amount to $731 billion, which the groups say is below what is needed by developing countries to respond to climate change.
“While we recognize the establishment of the LDF (loss and damage fund) as an initial success for the peoples of the world, the world’s top climate polluters are still refusing to pay up and deliver on their promises of loss and damage finance,” said Enjo Sarmiento of the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment.
$400B per year
Citing a 2022 UN report, Greenpeace said the loss and damage fund would “need around $400 billion a year in order for it to respond to the needs of developing countries,” and the current pledges only amount to “1 percent of what is needed.”
“With the current paltry amount of pledges in the Fund and the disappointing outcomes for climate finance at the UN climate talks in Baku, the Fund for responding to loss and damage has a difficult task ahead,” Lea Guerrero, country director of Greenpeace Philippines, said in a statement.
As part of its protest, Greenpeace led what it called a “jeer-leading” action aiming to raise awareness on the impact of climate change in the country, with cheerleaders holding up signs that show the amount of damage caused by recent typhoons.
On Nov. 12, the Philippines signed its host country agreement with the cochairs of the FRLD during the second day of the United Nations Climate Change Conference or COP29, which was held this year in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“Hosting the Board is a responsibility we take very seriously,” Environment Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo Loyzaga said during her speech on Monday.
“Our goal is to support the Board in advancing decisions that ensure the Fund is accessible, equitable and impactful,” she added.
Given the consecutive typhoons that hit the country from October to November, Loyzaga pointed out that the Philippines is “a living laboratory” regarding current and future disaster risks, and can serve as a “test case” for the Board.
