THE Philippine delegation in the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt called for urgent and bolder climate change actions while unveiling its own needs and priorities.

Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga said the Philippine team laid out strategic positions on the issue during the first week of the meet scheduled from November 6 to 18.

Loyzaga returned to Manila ahead of the PH delegation in time for the deliberation of the DENR budget before the Senate.

The DENR chief said the PH delegation explained the country’s position on the global discussion that would significantly boost the specific needs and priorities as well as the need for external support in the form of technology, transfer, capacity-building and financial support.

Divided into four categories, the work streams are specifically on loss and damage; adaptation; climate finance; and the inclusion of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions avoidance in Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

The Philippines pushed for the adoption of a precise definition of “loss and damage” to include impacts from extreme climate events and slow onset change, to cover economic and non-economic losses, and to establish a mechanism that would fund and deliver technical support to help countries manage loss and damage.

The Philippine delegation at COP27 reported that earthquakes and typhoons cause an average US$3.5 billion per year, which is over 1.0 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, in direct losses to public and private assets. In the next 50 years, it could be estimated that this will exceed US$33 billion.

The PH delegation insisted that climate finance should be complemented by viable and effective technology transfer and country-specific capacity building, which must be mobilized towards concrete projects, programs and initiatives.

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Joel dela Torre