The Philippines is set to host this December the first board meeting for the Loss and Damage Fund, the global fund that aims to help vulnerable nations address the impact of climate change caused by rapid industrialization, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said.

DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga (Photo from the Presidential Communications Office)

During a Palace press briefing on Wednesday, Oct. 16, DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga revealed that the Philippines and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are currently in the process of finalizing the host country agreement.

The Philippines is the host country of the inaugural loss and damage fund.

“So, kapag na-in place na iyan (when that is in place) there will be now the first board meeting after that will be dito po sa Pilipinas (here in the Philippines),” she said.

“So, in December there will be a meeting here of the Loss and Damage Fund Board – tayo po ang host niyan (we are the host) and we hope that there will be certain agreements reached one is, who will be actually funding the Loss and Damage Fund Board,” she added.

The official explained that so far, only countries have pledged to the fund, which has a total starting capital of around $700 million to set up the operations of the board.

“The whole idea of the board and the fund is actually so that there can be funding sources from other than countries specifically,” she explained.

Although the World Bank will be the repository of the fund, Yulo-Loyzaga said that the rules and guidelines as to who would be able to avail the fund will be the board’s decision.

The official, however, explained that despite being prone to natural disasters, small island development states and African countries are currently the priority-beneficiaries of the fund as they are the most vulnerable countries to climate change.

She said that many of these small island-states are already losing their coastal areas, with their citizens being forced to migrate under special agreements.

And while the official stressed that she wasn’t diminishing what Filipinos are currently experiencing in terms of flooding and other natural disasters, the situation is different in these more vulnerable nations because they lack the natural resources like mountains to protect the environment.

“They are exposed, they are vulnerable, their cultures are also being threatened because their cultures really revolve around their seafaring life ‘no and civilization,” she said.

The Loss and Damage Fund was established by the Conference of the Parties (COP) and the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) to assist developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including extreme weather events and slow onset events.

In July, the Philippines was chosen to be the host country for the fund’s board.