PH urged to tap $10-B UN climate fund

THE PHILIPPINES must seek financing for clean energy, sustainable infrastructure and climate change mitigation projects from the $10-billion UN Green Climate Fund, diplomats and corporate leaders said at a business forum.

German Ambassador Thomas Ossowski said industrialized countries have contributed about $10 billion initially to the UN Green Climate Fund and the first projects should be implemented starting this year.

“That is a chance for the Philippines, for the private sector and for the public sector, to tap the financing,” he said. “All the effort which we have to undertake in the field of adaptation must be complemented by financing. Investments need finances.”

Noting that the country was exposed to the effects of climate change such as through ever-stronger typhoons, Ossowski urged the Philippines “not to wait too long” but to get familiar with procedures right away through discussions with the EU on how to tap the fund.

“GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH) is already advising the Philippine government on how to tap this money for international financing. Please use these opportunities,” he said.

Also known as the German Agency for International Cooperation, GIZ represents the German government in development cooperation all over the world.

Tom Delay, CEO of UK-based firm The Carbon Trust, said global efforts to move toward clean energy and other environment-friendly technologies offered great opportunities for businesses and state agencies alike to innovate.

The Carbon Trust is a “not-for-dividend” company that helps organizations boost energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. In its website, the company said its mission was to accelerate the global move to a “sustainable, low carbon economy.”

Businessmen in attendance at the forum said the Philippines must move forward “post-typhoon Haiyan” with stronger programs toward sustainable infrastructure and eco-friendly practices.

According to recent studies, every $1 spent on flood control, typhoon-proofing of structures and other climate change resiliency measures, the government could save about $4 on rehabilitation, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said in a recent interview.

In 2010, industrialized countries promised to put together a fund that would make available some $100 billion in financing a year by 2020 to help poorer states develop clean energy systems and cope with weather extremes.

So far, however, only $10 billion has been raised.

Raising financing for climate change mitigation and adaptation is one of the four main points of a proposed UN climate agreement, set to be signed in Paris later this year.