The Philippines has secured a seat on the Board of the Loss and Damage Fund, a fund created to help developing nations vulnerable to the effects of climate change, Environment Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said Thursday.

This developed amid President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s firm interest in having a seat on and hosting the Loss and Damage Fund Board to make the Philippines “the voice of developing countries that are vulnerable to climate change,” Yulo-Loyzaga said in a Palace press briefing.

“We are very fortunate and we are very lucky that through the hard work, of course, and the vision of the President, we have garnered a seat on the Board of the Loss and Damage Fund,” she said.

Yulo-Loyzaga, however, said there would be term-sharing for three years, with the Philippines serving as a “full member” in 2024 and 2026, and an “alternate member” in 2026.

In 2025, she said, the Philippines would have a term-share with Pakistan, the other Asia-Pacific country that is also part of the board.

“So, out of the three years, the Philippines will be sitting two years as full member and one year as an alternate member. Our next job, of course, is to work with the rest of the board to see how we can have a proper host for the board itself,” Yulo-Loyzaga said.

“And as such, you make expect, it comes to the point that we would take a vote. The Philippines may have to recuse itself from the vote because we are in fact vying for the hosting of the board.”

Yulo-Loyzaga said the “main gain” for the Philippines in terms of being part of the board and hopefully hosting it is “to continue to represent the vulnerable countries in the world that are developing and need to have special consideration.”

She emphasized that the Philippines, being at the forefront as a member of the Loss and Damage Fund Board, could help the developing nations “thrive and survive the impacts of climate change.”

“Each of the countries (has) unique needs and therefore, the climate-vulnerable developing countries, especially island and archipelagic countries like our own, need to be able to articulate our needs and have an influenced climate policy in this way,” she said.

Pledges ‘very far from enough’

Contributions from developed nations to the Loss and Damage Fund have reached more than USD700 million, Yulo-Loyzaga said.

She, however, admitted that the fund commitments remain to be “very far from enough.”

“What has happened is it went above what was being expected. So, ngayon, nasa USD726 million na po ang capitalization ng fund (The capitalization of the fund has now reached USD726 million). Of course, these are still pledges because there needs to be a receptacle for the funds,” Yulo-Loyzaga said.

“(The pledges are) very far from enough because there are countries, for example, that are already losing their land area that have already started to look for land in other countries para malipatan ng mga population nila (where their populations could move). As you can see, there are many needs that cannot be met by ordinary types of funding.”

She said the Philippines and all nations that are vulnerable to climate change must continue to pressure developed countries to contribute to the Loss and Damage Fund.

She also expressed hope that the fund would be made operational “as soon as possible.”

“We hope within 2024, there will be some progress now in terms of the organization and the guidelines that will be made available to those that need to access the fund. The idea is there must be urgency, there must be country requirements met,” Yulo-Loyzaga said. (PNA)