At least 13.6 million Filipinos are at risk of permanent displacement as the sea level is expected to rise by 2100 due to the effects of climate change, an official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said on Friday, July 12.

“It is projected that almost 17 percent of the Philippines’ islands will be submerged due to sea level rising by 2100 putting at risk 64 provinces, 822 coastal communities and estimated 13.6 million Filipinos that would need relocation,” DENR Undersecretary for Finance, Information Systems and Climate Change Analiza Rebuelta-Teh said.

The environment department has yet to release the list of the areas expected to be affected.

By 2040, she said around 150,000 Filipinos will be displaced by the rise of sea water level.

Teh noted that such is expected to cause P18 billion worth of economic losses.

Citing the 2023 World Risk Index, the DENR official noted that the Philippines holds the top spot for the highest disaster risks.

“The most recent El Niño in the Philippines led to more than 61 percent losses in agriculture worth about US$47million from 50,511 hectares,” Teh stated in her report.

Climate change, according to the undersecretary, is projected to impact 7.6 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) amounting to US$24.2 billion.

Recently, the Philippines won the bid to host the Loss and Damage Fund Board.

Environment Secretary Maria Antonia “Toni” Yulo-Loyzaga stated that hosting the loss and damage fund board is a “welcome development for the Philippines as one of the countries most vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.”

“The Loss and Damage Fund is a long-fought struggle to directly assist those who bear the greatest impact of climate-induced losses and damage to recover and build,” she said. “We take on this responsibility in solidarity with all countries vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.”

Per the DENR, the Fund is designed to support developing nations particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, aiding them in addressing both economic and non-economic losses and damages related to such effects. This includes damage from extreme weather events and slow-onset phenomena.

It noted that the Board overseeing the Fund consists of 26 members from Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Paris Agreement, comprising 12 members from developed countries and 14 from developing countries.

“The Philippines is a member of the Board, occupying one of three seats for Asia-Pacific States. The Board member representing the Philippines is Atty. Mark Dennis Joven, with Board Adviser Ms. Leila Lora-Santos,” the agency added.