BBM off to Dubai for climate summit

PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. is set to leave today for Dubai where he will attend the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The annual United Nations summit, which will be participated in by some 70,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries, is taking place as the world is poised to shatter another record for the hottest year in 2023, and as new reports confirm countries’ current climate pledges are not enough to avert the worst impacts of global warming.

The President said the Philippines is one of the countries that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and it must take the lead in pushing for the global aspiration that developed and developing countries should assist the most vulnerable communities to adapt to climate change.

“We will use this platform to rally the global community and call upon nations to honor their commitments, particularly in climate financing,” said Marcos who is among the speakers of the World Climate Action Summit during the COP28 that will run up to December 2.

The President’s visit to Dubai was on the invitation of United Arab Emirates Ambassador Mohamed Obaid Salem Alqataam Al-Zaabi, who asked Marcos to attend the COP28 during a courtesy call in Malacañang in June this year.

Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Maria Teresa Almojuela, in a briefing, said the COP28 is significant as it will review how far the world has gone in implementing the Paris Agreement, an international treaty forged at the COP21 in 2015, and which sets out to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

DAMAGE FUND

Almojuela said one of the priorities of the meeting is the setting up of the framework of the “loss and damage fund” that had been agreed upon during the COP27 in Egypt.

The fund aims to provide financial assistance to vulnerable developing countries grappling with the effects of climate change.

Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, who joined the briefing via Zoom from Dubai, said discussions on the fund are extremely important, given that “there are losses and damages that are beyond our ability to finance.”

Loyzaga said the fund will cover all