President Marcos will push the country’s priorities in climate-related agenda as he leaves for Dubai today to join the 28th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP 28).
Mr. Marcos said he will use COP 28 to urge the international community to continue supporting initiatives aimed at mitigating climate change.
“We will use this platform to rally to global community and call upon nations to honor their commitments, particularly in climate financing,” he said during the People’s Survival Fund (PSF) transfer ceremony held in Malacañang on Wednesday.
The PSF involves an historic amount of over P541 million for climate adaptation projects to local government unit beneficiaries, marking a significant stride in the nation’s battle against climate change, the Department of Finance said.
Established under Republic Act No. 10174 in 2012, the PSF had aninitial capitalization of P1 billion to finance adaptation programs and projects of LGUs and accredited local and community organizations.
The President stressed the importance of COP 28 as the Philippines is one of the countries most vulnerable to the global effects of climate change.
“And so, we must do our part here in the Philippines,” he said.
“But we must also take the lead when it comes to the global move and the global aspiration that those most vulnerable communities aroundthe world will somehow be assisted by the developing countries when it comes to these measures to mitigate and to adapt to climate change,” he added.
He reminded everyone that climate change mitigation is not the responsibility of the government only, but rather the whole nation.
For her part, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Maria Teresa Almojuela said the DFA is finalizing talks for at least a dozen bilateral meetings during the President’s COP 28 attendance.
“Some of these requests are made in the venue at the sidelines, so we are not sure this time [exactly how many will push through],” Almojuela said.
“Right now, we are working on a dozen bilateral meetings for the President,” she added.
The President will first meet with members of the Filipino community in Dubai before participating in COP 28 over the next two days, where he is expected to speak at the World Climate Action Summit.
“I think one of the priorities is also to set up the framework of the loss and damage fund as agreed in the last COP in Egypt,” she said.
The COP 28 will take place in Expo City Dubai from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12.