Marcos urges Congress to pass enabling law for Loss and Damage Fund

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that the Congress needs to pass an enabling law for the Loss and Damage Fund, an international budget for countries affected by climate change.  

During his third SONA, Marcos recounted that the Philippines was selected  to host the Loss and Damage Fund. The Loss and Damage Fund, initiated by a United Nations Climate Conference, is an endowment that is meant to assist developing countries affected by climate change.  

“This will require an enabling law from Congress to confer the legal personality and capacity to the Board,” Marcos said in his SONA.

Marcos said that the effects of climate change have become more severe, with the Philippines’ geographical location making it more vulnerable, making the country a proactive advocate of climate change. 

During the 43rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Jakarta, Indonesia, Marcos had urged world leaders to enact the Loss and Damage Fund. 

“Countries with the smallest carbon footprints disproportionately bear the heaviest burden of climate change. We need to urgently realize the Loss and Damage Fund to catalyze assistance to address climate change,” Marcos said in September 2023. 

In December 2023, the Philippines was able to secure a seat in the Loss and Damage Fund board seat. The Philippines was eventually selected to host the Fund, beating Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Barbados, Bahamas, Togo, Kenya and Eswatini.