PH to get $1-B ‘environment protection’ loans

ADB leads fund-raising for climate change projects

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines, one of the few countries identified as facing the highest risk of natural disasters, will get $1 billion worth of loans over the medium term to fund programs aimed at improving the country’s ability to cope with climate change.

The loans will be provided by the Asian Development Bank and rich countries that have pledged financial support for developing economies like the Philippines to implement environment-protection initiatives.

The first tranche of the loan, worth $400 million, will be provided by the ADB and will be part of its three-year country assistance strategy (CAS) for the Philippines starting 2011, according to David McCauley, principal climate-change specialist at the ADB.

While environment-related projects and programs under the CAS are still being firmed up, McCauley said the $400 million is expected to finance initiatives that will promote the use of solar energy, one way to reduce greenhouse emissions that have been causing climate change.

Aside from extending loans from its own fund, the ADB is also facilitating the extension of climate change-related credit from rich countries to developing nations.

McCauley said developed countries were contributing to an overall fund intended to finance initiatives that would help developing and least-developed states cope with climate change.

Industrialized economies are tasked with investing in environment-protection programs given that they contribute most to the world’s overall greenhouse emissions. On the other hand, developing and least-developed countries have a smaller share to total emissions, but are more prone to the ill-effects of climate change.

In the case of the Philippines, it is one of the few countries identified to face the highest risk of natural disasters resulting from climate change due to its location and archipelagic structure despite accounting for only 0.27 percent of the world’s total greenhouse emissions.

High-income countries led by the United States account for about 64 percent of the world’s total greenhouse emissions, while lower-income nations contribute 36 percent.

Climate-change risk faced by the Philippines was manifested toward the end of 2009 when it was battered with back-to-back calamities, Tropical Storm “Ondoy” that hit the capital and Typhoon “Pepeng” that struck northern provinces.

McCauley said rich countries were expected to further discuss their financial contribution to global efforts to address climate change during a summit to be held in Cancun, Mexico, from November 29 to December 10.

Policymakers from various countries will meet for the climate-change conference to firm up strategies to address the problem. –Michelle Remo, Philippine Daily Inquirer