MANILA – The Department of Finance (DOF) on Wednesday said that the Philippines has been formally inducted into the Board of Vulnerable 20 Group of Finance Ministers (V20) - Group of Seven (G7) Global Shield Against Climate Risks last Nov. 15, 2023.
In a statement, the DOF, which represented the Philippines in the initiative, said the Global Shield Against Climate Risks aims to make considerable progress towards providing and facilitating more and better pre-arranged protection against climate and disaster-related risks for vulnerable countries.
The Global Shield aims to close protection gaps in climate-vulnerable countries, using a toolbox of pre-arranged and trigger-based finance.
So far, a total of EUR270 million has been raised in funds through financial contributions from nine bilateral and regional sources––Germany, EU, France, Denmark, Ireland, Canada, UK, Japan, and the United States of America (USA).
The 12-member board is co-chaired by Ghana and Germany, with Barbados, Fiji, Samoa, Uganda, Denmark, the European Union (EU), France, Ireland, United Kingdom (UK), and the Philippines as members.
“We will use this seat to further the interests of the Philippines. This initiative will widen access to much-needed financial protection to make climate-vulnerable countries like the Philippines more resilient,” Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said.
The DOF currently has ongoing and pipeline partnerships with bilateral and multilateral development partners on climate and disaster risk finance and insurance instruments that can serve as entry points or models for the type of assistance that may be secured under the Global Shield Initiative.
Diokno said the DOF will use existing assessments and prevailing coordination mechanisms, such as government-stakeholder consultations, the forthcoming National Adaptation Plan, and the national development planning process, to maximize current achievements and preliminary accomplishments already completed, and avoid the duplication of efforts, as well as ensure timely access to financing of needs and requirements. (PNA)
