Speaking at the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action (CFMCA) Regional Meeting, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said integrated solutions are needed to bring climate action and poverty eradication together.
He said the Philippines is doubling its efforts to master the complexities of economic development and climate action, saying the government is prioritizing fiscal stability to provide long term investments for a more meaningful climate action.
“We cannot achieve overall economic prosperity for Filipinos without boosting climate resilience,” Recto said.
“Because climate change is deeply unfair. It strikes hardest at the poorest, makes poverty worse. It is the ultimate injustice,” he added.
The Philippines already has its National Adaptation Plan and the Nationally Determined Contribution Implementation Plan as playbooks that outline strategies to fully achieve both climate and economic objectives. The People’s Survival Fund also channels resources directly to locally tailored and community-led climate adaptation projects.
Recto also said that the Department of Finance is utilizing fiscal policy as a tool to promote a regime that rewards green investments in the country. Tax incentives are hoped to attract investments in clean and renewable energy, green infrastructure, sustainable agriculture, and waste-to-energy technologies, among others. On the other hand, an excise tax on plastics is expected to address pollution and adopt more sustainable practices.
Poverty eradication and climate action have become so intertwined that any action or program targeting one must consider the other. Despite that, the mistake of treating those concerns separately is still being made, but hopefully, the current leadership in the Department of Finance that seems to be aware of the need for integrated solutions, can chart a better and more sustainable path forward.
Hopefully that path can be mapped and institutionalized, so everyone down the line can be apprised of the big picture and the national effort at all levels can be coordinated so we don’t waste any more time and resources running around like headless chickens.*
