MANILA, Philippines — The government will implement a $22 million (P1.2 billion) climate adaptation project that aims to prepare disaster-prone communities from the adverse impacts of various calamities.
State-run Land Bank of the Philippines and weather bureau PAGASA launched the establishment of an impact-based forecasting and early warning system for the Philippines (IBF-PH project).
The project aims to enable communities, especially those frequently hit by disasters, to take better pre-emptive measures against natural calamities.
The project is supported by a $10-million (P552.2 million) grant from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and $12-million (P662.7 million) co-financing from PAGASA through the Department of Science and Technology.
This is the first GCF-approved project in the country with PAGASA as the lead executing entity and the Landbank serving as a direct access entity to ensure that the project is compliant with GCF policies and standards.
The GCF is an operating entity of the financial mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Paris Agreement. It is the world’s largest multilateral climate fund that has nearly $11 billion in approved climate funding and a total portfolio of over $40 billion.
The GCF aims to help developing countries such as the Philippines to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change. This is done by supporting programs and projects that promote a paradigm shift to low-emission and climate-resilient development.
The IBF-PH project aims to address the challenges related to climate hazards by communicating what the weather “will do” rather than what the weather “will be.”
It will combine the best available science and local knowledge on forecasting and risk assessment, instead of generating standardized information based on thresholds and lead times.
The project will run for the next four years, with the end goal of institutionalizing impact-based forecasting and integrating early warnings into investment and policy decisions.
It will be piloted in the disaster-prone areas of Palo in Leyte, New Bataan in Davao de Oro, Tuguegarao City in Cagayan, and Legazpi City in Albay.
Landbank president and CEO Cecilia Borromeo said the financial institution aims to advance sustainable finance and contribute to addressing the challenges of climate change.
An earlier study of the Department of Finance showed that the Philippines is bound to incur as much as P1.5 trillion in losses from natural disasters in the next five decades.
It is also estimated that implementing climate change mitigation actions for priority sectors of energy, forestry, industry and transport alone is around $4.12 billion from 2015 to 2030.
The Philippines remains as one of the most climate-vulnerable countries over the past two decades. The United Nations earlier said the world would be inhabitable unless governments everywhere reassess their energy policies.