Thank you to all of those who have made it here today for just a short briefing on the Loss and Damage Fund, or what is being called the fund, to respond to loss and damage.

It’s very important to note that this fund has been established to really address the inability of some of our country members to the Paris Agreement to meet and cope and adapt to the impacts of climate change. This is an essential step for us to take, especially for those climate vulnerable countries in the world. I’m very happy to be able to share a background of the bid as it was inspired by our realities and in line with our, of course, commitments to UNFCCC and to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, all in all among other commitments internationally.

I want to share two important facts. As early as the preparation for COP28, held in November of 2023 and in anticipation of the possible creation and inclusion of the loss and damage item into the agenda of COP28. The President had already had a vision for the role of the Philippines and what it could play in the hosting of a board as a possibility.

This was born of his unique understanding of our history of climate and weather-related disasters, both slow and rapid, and the roles that previous delegations had played from the Philippines in representing the most climate vulnerable countries. As head of the COP28 delegation, it was our role and the role of the whole team to play a critical part in this mission, especially as we tried to lay the groundwork for a possible campaign in Dubai.

Secondly, our selection as the host of the Loss and Damage Fund Board was an all-hands-on-deck endeavor. The DENR’s climate change team, the CCC, the DFA, especially the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and his team, and our permanent mission in New York, NEDA, the DOF, and the OP, among others, worked to organize and articulate the Philippine proposal.

I would like to especially acknowledge the team on the front lines in terms of this multilateral negotiation. Attorney Mark Joven and Ambassador Leila Lora-Santos and the support that they have received, of course, from the technical working group that was organized also by instruction of the President, notably DENR Undersecretary Anna Teh and her team, the commissioners of the CCC, in the DOF, Usec Luwalhati-Tiuseco, in the NEDA, Usec Carlo Abad Santos and Director Nieva Natural. All of these key personalities were among those who played a role in bringing this proposal together.

Climate change is reshaping our world in ways we have never imagined before. What was once considered change of climate over geological time now affects particularly vulnerable countries instantly and the different sectors and communities. It is now turning to what we are knowing as a global emergency, affecting populations and threatening the existence of the entire human race, at the very core of the ecosystems as well that support us.

The Philippines, by virtue of our unique geography, being nestled in both the Pacific Ring of Fire and the Typhoon Belt, has perennially bore the brunt of ever-increasing natural disasters due to rapid and slow onset climate and weather-related hazards. Our large growing population and our steady economic growth are factors resulting in the singular distinction of being among the world’s countries at highest risk for several years running. While this distinction is by no means enviable, it also highlights the reality that climate hazards are a fact of life for all Filipinos.

For this reason, the Philippines has chosen to, in fact, be the voice of climate vulnerable countries. We all know that we have sought ways and means to ameliorate the damage and loss that have been arising from disasters that have impacted us over the years.

In this way, we actually feel the representation of the board will be a very critical aspect of our role in the global climate change negotiations to come. The selection of the Philippines is a testament to the Philippines’ role in the loss and damage discourse and its ability to scale up the loss and damage fund, hopefully, from where it is today.

Being uniquely positioned to lead this discourse now, we would like to in fact, play a role in representing all climate vulnerable countries and through the vision that was set out for us by many of the veterans in the climate negotiation space that were in fact from the Philippines.

On this note, I will turn over to Usec Anna Teh to present the features of the Philippine proposal to host the Loss and Damage Fund Board.