Cong. Edgar Chatto of the First District of Bohol and the chairperson of the House Committee on Climate Change, headlines the online round table discussion on Climate Adaptation Finance Tracking last Wednesday, February 10, 2021, as the solon stressed the importance of climate finance tracking.
“Climate finance accountability is very important to keep track of the climate funds to ensure that the money goes to the appropriate projects whether it is adaptation or mitigation and that no duplication of funds for the same intended project is being done. Climate finance accountability is also important to avoid over reporting by donor countries or under reporting of recipients,” he emphasized.
According to a report of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) Deputy Executive Director Angelo Kairos dela Cruz, a total of 623 climate-related projects were committed to the Philippines from 2013-2017.
The related total climate commitments amounted to US$4.3 billion, of which US$ 878 million in funds were committed in 2017 to cover over 133 projects, dela Cruz added.
For his part, Chatto committed to propose to Congress a way to ensure that congressional oversight function is fully exercised with the said climate funds as part of the budget formulation process.
“Ultimately, it should be the interest of the House of Representatives to know how international sources can complement our own allocations. In the same interest, the use of these funds should also be scrutinized to ensure their integrity,” Chatto quipped.
The said virtual forum was the venue to officially launch the Climate Finance Adaptation Study Report: Philippines of the ICSC in partnership with organizations located in Denmark and in the Netherlands, which is part of an international pilot project on climate adaptation finance tracking.
Asec. Paola Alvarez of the Department of Finance (DOF) discussed climate finance in the Philippine context and ICSC lead analyst Janssen Martinez talked about the overview of the climate finance landscape.
Furthermore, Sara Jane Ahmed, finance advisor and Rommel Cuenca, Deputy Executive Director of the Climate Change Commission were alongside Chatto in panel of reactors.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defines climate financing as local, national or transnational financing—drawn from public, private and alternative sources of financing—that seeks to support mitigation and adaptation actions that will address climate change. (with reports from Ven rebo Arigo)