Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga attended the opening of the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt on November 6. She was joined by His Excellency Ambassador Ezzedin Tago, who is the designated Deputy Head of Delegation.

Loyzaga was designated Head of the Philippine Delegation to COP27 and is the official representative of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to the Climate Change Commission. The Philippine Delegation is composed of officials from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of Finance, Climate Change Commission, and technical experts from the biodiversity, climate science, and development sector.

The opening ceremony brought together delegates from over 100 countries led by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and other Heads of State such as French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.   COP26 President, Minister Alok Sharma, turned over COP27’s presidency to Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, who was formally elected by the parties.

According to Minister Shoukry, the COP in Egypt will provide clear pathways for parties and stakeholders to align various views and enable transparent and inclusive discussions to achieve definite climate action outcomes. The Egyptian Presidency has committed to delivering an impactful and inclusive COP.

The agenda of COP27 was also adopted and, in a historical first, parties agreed to place loss and damage funding as an agenda item. This was a critical item advanced by all the developing country members of G77.  This year’s COP is directed toward implementation and aims for nations to move from pledges to definite and meaningful actions.

 

On November 8, Secretary Loyzaga was invited to meet with the Rt Hon Lord Zac Goldsmith, United Kingdom’s Minister of State for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environment, to discuss ways by which the UK can provide support for the Philippines, including through accessing the Blue Planet Fund. The UK’s £500 million fund supports developing countries to protect the marine environment, tackle plastic pollution, and reduce poverty. The Secretary also met with the Director of the Environment and Society Programme of Chatham House, Professor Tim Benton, to discuss food security.

The conference runs from November 6-18, 2022 and the Philippine delegation continues to attend sessions and negotiations on adaptation, mitigation, and climate finance where the country’s measures and views on these measures were shared during the interventions.

Loyzaga said the Philippines will continue to assert its entitlement to support and assistance as a country vulnerable to climate change impacts at COP27.

“The Philippine delegation in the following days will continue to assert and safeguard the country’s interest in climate change negotiation, ensuring that we receive the appropriate support and assistance as a country vulnerable to climate change,” Loyzaga said.

Loyzaga said the delegation will reiterate the country’s “call for bolder climate action and demand the delivery of what is due for the developing countries which hardly produce any greenhouse gas emissions, yet they suffer the most and continue to bear the brunt of the adverse impacts of climate change.”

“As developing countries need resources for climate adaptation, the Philippine delegation will continue calling on developed countries to step up to these obligations and deliver without delay on their commitments on climate finance, technology transfer and capacity building,” Loyzaga added. ###