BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO
THE United States government launched on Thursday, March 10, a new project to build climate resilience in cities in the Philippines, one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.
According to the Information Office Public Affairs Section (Iopas) of the US Embassy in the Philippines, the five-year P750-million ($15 million) Climate Resilient Cities project was initially announced during the Indo-Pacific Business Forum in October 2021.
The Iopas of the US Embassy said this will help Philippine cities adapt to, mitigate, and endure the impacts of climate change by increasing their access to climate financing and tools to build resilience.
It said through this US Agency for International Development (USAid) project, the US government will support local government units and other stakeholders to better understand, use, and disseminate climate information to local communities.
Heather Variava, US Embassy in the Philippines chargé d’affaires ad interim, said climate change is impacting people, communities and nations all around the world.
“We believe that responding to the climate crisis is a shared mission between the US and Philippine governments. We look forward to our collaboration with key stakeholders to ensure that resilience is built into the fabric of cities in the Philippines,” Variava said.
The US Embassy Iopas said the project will also help cities and nongovernment organizations access climate financing to increase community resilience and contribute to communities’ economic and social development, as well as support natural climate solutions that increase cities’ resilience to climate change impacts.
“Climate change is a serious threat and a daily reality for the Philippines. For us, reversing the effects of climate change is a matter of survival,” Philippine Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd said.
Also the official representative of President Rodrigo Duterte in the Climate Change Commission, Dominguez said the Philippines is determined to move ahead with the implementation of actual projects on the ground to meet its commitments.
The Philippines has committed to a projected greenhouse gas emission reduction and avoidance of 75 percent from 2020 to 2030 for the agriculture, wastes, industry, transport, and energy sectors.
Dominguez has expressed thanks to the US government for the timely initiative that will help arm local communities with the necessary knowledge. “[This] will enable [local communities] to formulate doable and practical climate adaptation and mitigation projects on the ground,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is working with USAid to implement the Climate Resilient Cities project, together with its consortium partners including the University of the Philippines Resilience Institute, Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation, Conservation International and Rocky Mountain Institute.
Karen Janes Ungar, CRS Philippines country representative, said the strong partnership with Philippine communities allows them to understand the needs of the communities and ensure that public-private climate change adaptation efforts are tailored to their unique context and needs.
The US Embassy said the project also supports the Philippine government’s National Climate Change Action Plan, Nationally Determined Contributions, and National Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management Roadmap, and advances the US government’s goal of tackling the climate crisis around the world.
Climate Resilient Cities will also receive support from the government of the Republic of Korea, through the Korea International Cooperation Agency, as part of a joint partnership between the US and Korean governments, it added.