Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto asked his fellow finance ministers to prioritize integrated solutions to address climate action and poverty eradication, stressing the need to balance economic development and climate resilience.
“Here in the Philippines, we are no strangers to the economic gymnastics required to balance growth and resilience. Just like our two-time Olympic gold medalist, we strive to master the complexities of economic development and climate action—to emerge triumphant,” Recto said in his keynote address at the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action (CFMCA) regional meeting on Aug. 28, 2024 at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) headquarters in Mandaluyong City.
“As finance ministers, we understand better than most that these two vital agendas are not competing forces on a scale. When done right and contextualized in our own realities, they reinforce each other to ensure the welfare, security, and prosperity of our people” he said.
Established in 2019, the CFMCA is a global alliance of finance ministers in 92 countries to foster knowledge exchange and support climate action initiatives.
Recto emphasized to fellow finance ministers and development partners that the Philippines prioritizes fiscal stability to provide long-term investments needed to make a real and meaningful climate action.
He said the Marcos administration’s medium-term fiscal program serves as the government’s overall blueprint for sustainable economic growth while upholding the highest standards of fiscal discipline.
The program enables the government to prudently finance green infrastructure, support local adaptation projects, educate people on climate consciousness, create green jobs and reduce poverty along the way.
“For we know all too well, that we cannot achieve overall economic prosperity for Filipinos without boosting climate resilience,” Recto said.
“Because climate change is deeply unfair. It strikes the hardest at the poorest. It makes poverty worse. And as climate impacts grow, so too will the difficulty and cost of eradicating poverty in the country. It is the ultimate injustice,” he said.
Apart from the fiscal consolidation plan, the Philippines is armed with the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and the NDC Implementation Plan (NDC IP) as playbooks that outline strategies to fully achieve both climate and economic objectives.
Recto also highlighted the People’s Survival Fund (PSF) as one of the country’s concrete and innovative climate solutions, which channels vital resources directly to locally tailored and community-led climate adaptation projects.
To facilitate the development of a green and sustainable economy in the Philippines, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Sustainable Finance (ITSF) or Green Force was established with support from the Government of the United Kingdom (UK) under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Low Carbon Energy Programme (ALCEP).
The Philippines is also mobilizing the whole nation through the recently enacted Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Code to expedite sustainable and climate-resilient investments across the Philippine archipelago.
Recto said that the Department of Finance (DOF) is utilizing fiscal policy as a tool to promote a regime that rewards green investments in the country.
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