Dubai, United Arab Emirates – The story of how the whole nation is working together towards a climate-resilient future will be showcased at the first-ever Philippine Pavilion during the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) which will run from 30 November to 12 December 2023 at the Dubai Expo.
Themed “Together Today for Tomorrow,” the Philippine Pavilion illustrates how the country combines climate change adaptation and mitigation, resilience and sustainable pathways strongly rooted in equity. Led by the Office of the President and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the pavilion is a collaboration between the national and local governments, private sector, civil society, academe, and the youth.
President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. entrusted DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga to represent him as Head of Delegation. She will be joined by Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo, Climate Change Commission Vice Chairperson and Executive Director Robert Borje, Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Renato Solidum Jr., Presidential Adviser on Legislative Affairs Mark Llandro Mendoza, and Presidential Adviser on Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick Go. The event will also be attended by local chief executives and legislators, as well as representatives from Philippine development partners and the youth sector.
The Philippine Pavilion will host 32 Side Events throughout the 13-day conference. These events are aligned with the thematic days identified by the UAE COP28 Presidency and include panel discussions and lectures by international experts, government leaders, and other dignitaries. Led by national government agencies, in partnership with development partners, these side events aim to highlight the country’s collective and scalable efforts in addressing climate change and will showcase multistakeholder solutions to climate change centered around three areas: protecting biodiversity, building resilient communities, and low-carbon development.
Side events at the Philippine Pavilion will kick-off with a discussion on the forthcoming National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and the Nationally Determined Contribution Implementation Plan (NDCIP), led by the DENR, the Climate Change Commission (CCC), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB); then later, a discussion led by DOST Secretary Solidum on data governance as a key enabling factor to develop and implement resilience strategies that are suited for risk contexts, vulnerabilities, impacts, and needs. The DOST session will showcase how the Philippines has developed innovative digital solutions to effectively manage disaster data, and efficiently share, analyze, and utilize it for decision-making.
The DOH, World Health Organization (WHO), US Agency for International Development (USAID), and Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International will host discussions on how global health systems can integrate a climate lens and how the Philippines has developed policies, strategies and measures to ensure climate-resilient health systems.
“We have a number of nature-based panels, especially at the side events. The DENR has taken a role in that. It is extremely important for the Philippines as a climate-vulnerable country to be heard by other nations because what we’re trying to do at this point is really approach our climate resilience by twinning, adaptation, mitigation, and disaster risk reduction. That will involve the social, economic, environmental, and scientific efforts of the whole-of-government,” explained Secretary Loyzaga.
Meanwhile, the DENR and DOF will team-up to lead discussions on innovative climate financing strategies; successful cases of debt restructuring to support conservation programs and climate action; and present the proposed Philippine Sustainable Finance Taxonomy Guidelines (SFTG) of the Financial Sector Forum (FSF), updated sustainability reporting guidelines for publicly listed companies (PLCs) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the forest carbon roadmap and nature-based solutions by the DENR. There will also be side events that focus on gender-responsive climate financing for the just energy transition, inclusive governance for the deaf community, and climate finance that improves women’s livelihoods.
The DOTr and DOLE, on the other hand, will host discussions centered around right-skilling the Filipino workforce and the technical assistance needed to accelerate renewables and energy efficiency by 2030. These aim to support the global energy transition and the shift to green shipping. The government envisages that these discussions will lead to international certification of selected Philippine skills in advanced renewable energy systems. Events on this day aim to showcase successful cases in the Philippines of a just transition to clean energy as well as opportunities for financing and partnerships with the private sector.
On December 6, panel discussions will focus on the theme “Multilevel Action, Urbanization and Built Environment/Transport.” The DILG, DENR, DOE, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will lead discussions on topics such as the Philippine-Australia Partnership Model for Disaster and Climate Resilience, Circular Economy and the Extended Producers Responsibility, Investment opportunities related to the Electrical Vehicle industry and Battery Supply Chain and examining how the global stocktake can help Parties enhance national commitments.
December 8 is dedicated to the youth, children, education and skills sector as the National Youth Commission and youth delegates lead panel discussions and presentations on climate action. This will provide young people a space to put forward their concerns, advocate for increased participation, and showcase the innovation potential of children and youth-led climate action. Further, the National University of Singapore and the DENR Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) will discuss the vital role of the ocean for climate change adaptation and mitigation by identifying opportunities and highlighting the latest international policy developments on the ocean and climate change nexus.
On December 9, events at the Philippine Pavilion will focus on Nature Land Use and Oceans. USAID Sustainable Interventions for Biodiversity, Oceans, and Landscapes (SIBOL) will showcase how the country has adopted natural capital accounting principles that adhere to international and scientific standards. They also aim to demonstrate the experience of the Philippines in using the GA-GRP Framework as a new, progressive solution that measures how climate change is affecting natural capital, coupled with nature-based solutions in restoring what has been destroyed. The Philippines and the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity will also co-host a side event highlighting perspectives and experiences on the ways and actions to harmonize climate change and biodiversity policies at the ASEAN and national, and community levels. It will elucidate on the contributions of indigenous peoples, local communities, women, and youth towards biodiversity conservation and climate action. Other topics on this day include nature-based solutions and experiences of and responses to Loss and Damage in coastal and island communities.
On December 10, the side event entitled “The Role of Sustainable Agriculture Development and Water Management in Ensuring Food Security in the Era of Climate Change” emphasizes the significance of sustainable agriculture and water management in ensuring food security amidst the challenges of climate change. Among the Resource speakers include: Dr. Monica Ortiz from the Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad, Chile and Fellow, Manila Observatory, Parabukas – Philippines; Atty. Jose Andres Canivel, Executive Director, Forest Foundation Philippines; and Mr. Roberto Ballon, Kapunungan sa Gagmay’ng Mangingisda sa Concepcion – Philippines. On the same day, the forum “Strengthening resilience of CVF (Climate Vulnerable Forum) Member Countries in the agriculture and health sectors through climate information services leveraging from a south-south exchange” aims to provide timely and tailored information for policymakers and decision-makers on agriculture and human health in the context of climate variability and resilience.
“President Marcos has really supported the integration of climate into the different policy areas of the different departments. And he understands the link between climate, biodiversity, pollution, and sustainable development. This integrated messaging and the integrated approach that we are trying to institutionalize in the country, we hope will inspire others as well,” said Loyzaga.
COP28, hosted by the Government of United Arab Emirates, is the annual climate change negotiations within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The full program, daily agenda, and list of partners for the COP28 Philippine Pavilion can be viewed at https://cop28ph.denr.gov.ph. Events will be live-streamed and available on the website and DENR social media pages.###
