DOST chief urges need for disaster risk reduction financing

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SCIENCE and Technology Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. said that the Philippines is open to working with fellow member states to explore avenues to enhance accessibility of funds for addressing risks associated with climate change such as displacement, relocation and migration.

Department of Science and Technology Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. delivers speech at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva, Switzerland on June 4, 2025. SCREENGRAB PHOTO FROM THE LIVE PLENARY SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICE FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION VIA YOUTUBE COURTESY OF DOST

In a ministerial roundtable discussion titled "Financing for Disaster Risk Reduction" held in Geneva, Switzerland on June 4, 2025, Solidum highlighted the urgent need for disaster risk reduction (DRR) financing to be made an integral part of national planning, as well as a priority for international cooperation.

For a country that frequently experiences disasters and extreme events, Solidum said that adaptive and responsive disaster financing is essential so as not to set back the country's development gains.

"Prevention must be the default investment strategy, not an optional add-on," he emphasized.

Solidum that this entails mobilizing new resources and addressing the root causes of vulnerability, such as inequality, unplanned urbanization, environmental degradation and governance gaps.

The DOST chief elaborated that a true preventive approach will only succeed when investments to DRR efforts are guided by these underlying drivers of risk.

Highlighting the Philippines' best practices, Solidum said that the country is working to better allocate national funds for DRR at the domestic level.

According to him, the national government has also set up the People's Survival Fund, which provides financing directly to local communities to support adaptation programs.

The Philippine government has also implemented the Philippine Sustainable Finance Roadmap, which harmonizes all government policies on green and sustainable projects and directed all government agencies to align their investment priorities with the National Adaptation Plan.

However, Solidum said that domestic efforts alone are often not enough to close the financing gap and that a bold and comprehensive transformation in how the member states frame the DRR financing is needed.

"We envision an international financing system that does not burden developing countries with unsustainable debt under the pretext of resilience. Instead, it must be one that delivers timely, adequate, and predictable assistance and support, that includes grants, technology transfer, and capacity building," he said.

Acknowledging the challenges associated with the adverse effects of climate change such as displacement, relocation, migration, insufficient climate information and data, and the need for climate-resilient reconstruction and recovery, Solidum highlighted the need to leverage financing from broad sources, including blended finance and private capital through innovative financial instruments, to close the financing gap.

However, he said that based on the experience of the Philippines, the government realized that having funds to access is not enough when the communities lack the ability or readiness to access climate finance.

He said that access to various financing windows such as the Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund, Global Biodiversity Framework Fund and the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage must be enhanced.

With that, Solidum urges fellow member states to ensure that access modalities are inclusive, non-discriminatory and convenient for communities, which are most vulnerable and in need of assistance.

"In this regard, we welcome the collaboration between the Adaptation Fund and the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, which was announced last February 2025, as it seeks to provide support to developing countries to enhance their readiness to access climate finance," Solidum said.

Under the Sendai Framework, Paris Agreement and the Global Biodiversity Framework, accounting of direct and indirect disaster costs accurately is important since financing is often contingent upon robust national loss reporting systems.

Currently, the Sendai Framework remains the only globally agreed blueprint for how countries can address and reduce disaster risks and losses, adopted by 187 UN member states.

Representing a whole-of-government approach, the Philippine delegation was composed of 40 members, led by Solidum and Ambassador Carlos Sorreta, with representatives from national agencies such as the Office of the Civil Defense, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Social Welfare and Development, local government units of Makati and Baguio, and partners from the private sector and academia.