Senator Loren Legarda on Monday, July 14 called on climate-vulnerable nations to overhaul outdated policies and push for a more integrated approach to climate action.

Legarda said these countries that are vulnerable to climate change should pursue policies that protect not just lives and livelihoods but also culture, identity, and history.

“Climate change endangers all that you see and so much more: climate change imperils not only lives and livelihoods; it threatens to erase who we are,” Legarda said during a high-level meeting of Climate Vulnerable Forum and V20 Finance Ministers (CVF-V20) at the National Museum.

“It is this understanding that demands we broaden our definition of risk to fully encompass the cultural well-being of our people,” she stressed.

The senator warned that extreme heat alone could cost the Philippines an estimated P466 billion annually by 2030 but this figure fails to reflect the devastating loss of invaluable cultural heritage.

Aside from this, Legarda noted climate change also has forced communities to abandon their ancestral homes, threatened the erosion of cultural identity, and disrupted cherished social structures.

"As legislators, we are more than mere policymakers; we are the stewards of our nation’s future," asserted the veteran legislator.

"We must ensure that our laws reflect an unwavering commitment to both climate action and cultural preservation, she said. 

CVF-V20 is a coalition of 74 countries highly vulnerable to a warming planet such as Bangladesh, Ghana, Sri Lanka, Barbados, and the Philippines, which pushes national investment strategies under the members’ Climate Prosperity Plans (CPPs).

These strategies should redefine climate action as a catalyst for economic growth and inclusive development through the deployment of renewable energy technologies, risk management tools, and nature-based solutions that strengthen national economies and adapt effectively to climate impacts.

As founding chair of the V20, the Philippines has developed a Climate Prosperity Investment Memorandum aimed at aligning climate ambition with economic growth, renewable energy transformation, and sub-national resilience.