The Philippines, represented by the Department of Finance (DOF), was formally inducted into the Board of Vulnerable 20 Group of Finance Ministers (V20) - Group of Seven (G7) Global Shield Against Climate Risks on November 15, 2023.

The 12-member board of Barbados, Fiji, Samoa, Uganda, Denmark, European Union (EU), France, Ireland, United Kingdom (UK), and the Philippines is co-chaired by Ghana and Germany.

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.

With 270 million euros raised in funds from financial contributions of nine bilateral and regional sources––Germany, EU, France, Denmark, Ireland, Canada, UK, Japan, and the United States of America (USA)––the Global Shield aims to close protection gaps in climate-vulnerable countries, using a toolbox of pre-arranged and trigger-based finance.

“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.

Finance Undersecretary Maria Luwalhati C. Dorotan Tiuseco, who represented Secretary Diokno to the Board, echoed this sentiment, saying, “In the Philippines, climate change is a daily reality – one that includes more frequent and intense typhoons, flooding, and sea-level rise with devastating effects on our economy and communities. On the current trajectory of global warming, we know for a fact that losses will continue to grow, while global economic shocks diminish vulnerable countries' ability to respond.”

The DOF 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.

According to the Finance Secretary, the DOF intends to utilize 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.

The focused and dedicated tools under the Global Shield Initiative, as a grant facility, will directly contribute to the overall climate and disaster risk management agenda and disaster risk financing and insurance strategy of the Philippines. DOF