Diokno calls for New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance

CLIMATE FINANCE. Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno attends a high-level ministerial dialogue during the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai on Sunday (Dec. 3, 2023). In his speech, Diokno underscored the need to set up the New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance. (Photo courtesy of DOF)

MANILA – Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Benjamin Diokno cited the need to immediately set up the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance to strengthen countries’ climate action.

Diokno made the statement during the 2023 High-level Ministerial Dialogue (HLMD) on the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance as part of the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) on Dec. 3, 2023 in Dubai.

In a statement on Monday, the DOF said the COP 21 earlier decided that before 2025, the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) shall set an NCQG starting at a minimum of USD100 billion per year, taking into account the needs and priorities of developing countries.

“The New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance should be established without further delays,” Diokno said.

Diokno cited the need to ensure that the NCQG will sustain and enhance both the quality and quantity of climate finance.

He also recommended setting up a five-year timeframe to ensure coherence in the overall climate action under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Diokno said the quality of climate finance must be anchored on the principles of transparency, accessibility, predictability and efficiency to address implementation gaps in the provision of climate finance

He said transparency in climate finance can be enhanced by making goals science- and evidence-based; establishing the operational definition of climate finance; and stating the timeframes and commitments from climate finance providers.

Quantity, on the other hand, must be scaled up by exhausting all possible financial resources.

Diokno said climate finance must be demand-driven and priority-based to ensure that it is aligned with a country’s development pathways.

“The clarity of this new goal will define the predictability of our climate actions. Finally, we must collectively commit to deliver real progress in setting up the NCQG in 2024,” he said.

ADB support

Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it will program USD10 billion in climate finance for the Philippines between 2024 and 2029 to help the country implement its commitments to climate action under the Paris Agreement.

The support was announced by ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa also at COP28, during a dialogue called “Investing in a Better Tomorrow: Harnessing Financing Coalitions for Accelerating Climate Finance” on Monday.

The high-level dialogue was organized by the ADB and attended by Diokno, who is also ADB Governor for the Philippines; Philippine Environment Secretary and head of the COP28 delegation Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga; and ministers from other countries.

“The battle against climate change will be won or lost in Asia and the Pacific and nowhere is this more evident than in the Philippines,” Asakawa said.

“I am pleased to announce that ADB will program USD10 billion in climate finance for the Philippines under the new country program we are developing with the government. ADB will also continue efforts to mobilize additional climate finance from the private sector, cofinancing partners and other sources,” he added.

The ADB is currently preparing its country partnership strategy for the Philippines, 2024–2029, which will prioritize climate action and promote inclusive growth.

Under the new strategy, the ADB will support low-carbon transport, renewable energy, the development of carbon markets, flood management, resilient coastal development, food security and adaptive health and social protection.

In his speech during the dialogue, Diokno said the Nationally Determined Contributions Implementation Plan (NDC-IP) developed with the ADB will be instrumental in facilitating a sound and robust climate finance ecosystem in the Philippines.

“The NDC-IP Financial Strategy and Roles lays out the governance of the climate finance architecture in the Philippines and integrates the Roadmap and Guiding Principles with the NDC and the National Adaptation Plan, among others,” he said.

“With the increasing urgency to widen the scope and impact of climate action, a more effective strategy for climate finance must be in place,” Diokno added.