WB taps Phl as model for climate risk funding

Riza Lozada

The Philippines is being groomed as a model country for mobilizing funds to address climate risks.

A World Bank (WB) report stated that the country is home to 16 provinces considered among the top 50 places in Southeast Asia that are vulnerable to sea level changes.

It noted that in response to this risk, flood control takes the largest expenditure for the country’s 2015 budget.

The passage of that national budget that scales up climate change expenditures challenges the government in making an impact both domestically and globally towards climate change.

However, there are indications that most cities and their governments are not equipped with tools and trainings to launch the intended expenditures for climate change.

“There is a vision and a sustained government commitment to move forward. The focus of the reform effort on budget mobilization to address climate risks will shift to further institutionalize the process and tools by 2016, and deepen the quality of the planning, prioritization, funding gaps, and assessments process to mobilize the entire budget cycle to more effectively develop and execute the national climate response,” the World Bank said.

The Cabinet Cluster on Climate Change leads in implementing programs under the proposed P107.3 billion allocation to adapt to climate change which is equivalent to four percent of the total 2015 national budget. This budget is scaled up under the Program Budget Approach (PBA), the bank said, representing fivefold increase between 2013-2015.

“The President’s Budget Message of 2015 highlighted the increased funding through the PBA and the government’s ability to more effectively monitor and account for climate spending using the climate expenditure tagging system,” the WB said.

The PBA incentivizes coordination and convergence among national government agencies in the planning, budgeting and implementation of priority programs by focusing the available fiscal space on them. “Over 80 percent of the 2015 PBA is focused on addressing climate risks,” the bank said.

The government is likely to reduce its borrowings for climate change according to the Philippines Commission on Climate Change.

The visit of French President Francois Hollande recently resulted in the offering to the country of 10 million Euros for climate change but the commission expressed reservation on getting more loans.

It will be likely that loans will be in the third priority when choosing among available financing from the national budget, grants and loans.

The Australia-World Bank Philippines Development Trust Fund provides technical assistance to achieve reforms in climate change and to fully institutionalize progress over the next two years.

The World Bank reports that the Philippines urban poor in informal settlements, who accounts for 45 percent of the country’s total urban population, are vulnerable to floods.  Investing in low carbon growth can increase its competitiveness and this can be in the fields of agriculture, infrastructure, and energy.

The National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) establishes the Climate Change Commission to lead, coordinate, monitor and evaluate climate response and the Cabinet Cluster to increase convergence and coordination.

“Further progress is being made: The Government is now scaling up climate financing by leveraging the domestic budget to effectively implement and deliver its climate change reform agenda, and paving the way for a broad, strong financing strategy,” the WB said.

The climate change action plan creates the Oversight Agencies Climate Change Commission (CCC) compose of Department of Budget and Management (DBM), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and the Department of Finance (DOF)] to initiate reforms consistent with the Climate Change Act.