Inter-Agency Task Force on Sustainable Finance doubles efforts to mobilize financing to catalyze green investments and drive sustainable growth

The Inter-Agency Task Force on Sustainable Finance (ITSF) has doubled its efforts to mobilize various sources of public and private financing with the issuance of the Sustainable Finance Taxonomy Guidelines (SFTG) and the enactment of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Code to catalyze green investments and drive sustainable growth.

The ITSF is co-chaired by the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Climate Change Commission (CCC).

It 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) to aid in the development of a green and sustainable economy in the Philippines.

“The Department of Finance has been working hard to come up with innovative financing strategies for the Philippines to position itself as a global leader in the climate adaption and mitigation front. We will set an example for other countries to follow—showing them that real and lasting change is possible through strong commitment and leadership,” Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said.

Approved by the Monetary Board on February 14, 2023, the SFTG is a classification tool for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and larger businesses to determine whether an economic activity is environmentally and socially sustainable.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will have an observation period until the end of 2024 to allow banks time to understand and operationalize the SFTG principles.

The PPP Code, on the other hand, establishes a stable and predictable environment for collaboration of both public and private sectors and addresses the gaps in infrastructure financing.

The implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the PPP Code was signed on March 21, 2024, ensuring that investor concerns were addressed and that the country’s PPP framework is aligned with the best practices globally.

The declaration of policy under Section 2 of the PPP Code provides that the government must ensure the integration of climate resilience, and sustainability policies, among others, in the implementation of PPP projects.

The PPP Governing Board has previously issued Resolution No. 2018-12-02 as a safeguard