$42.2-M financial aid from Germany to cover climate change projects

MAKATI CITY -- The German Government granted the Philippines about $42.2 million financial support that will cover climate change projects within the next three years, a government official said on Monday.

Climate Change Commission (CCC) Commissioner Naderev Saño said at the Partners’ Meeting of the Philippine-German Development Cooperation on Climate Change held at the Hotel Intercontinental here that the amount provided by the German government is part of the ongoing technical support for local initiatives for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

“The Philippine and German governments have been undertaking joint projects designed to capacitate people and institutions with the ultimate goal of improving the lives of the Filipinos,” Saño told participants in the partners’ meeting.

The development cooperation between the two countries, implemented through key Philippine government institutions and the German Development Cooperation-Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), has since expanded to include the emerging concerns of climate change.

“We intend to align projects of GIZ designed to secure natural resources as a basis for livelihood generation, enhancement of employment opportunities and in renewable energy,” Saño said.

The CCC official thanked the German government for all the assistance given to the Philippines.

“Through the funds, we intend to implement the National Framework Strategy on Climate Change and the corresponding climate change action plans effectively and efficiently for improved adaptation to climate and mitigation of greenhouse gases,” Saño said.

He added the commission is also localizing efforts to support climate smart local planning and the implementation of pilot measures to enhance adaptation to climate change.

One of the recent projects of CCC is the eco-town in Guiuan, Eastern Samar that is meant to localize the implementation of the national climate change framework strategy, the first in the entire Visayas.

The setting up of eco-towns is a local implementation mechanism in the National Climate Change Action Plan, which provides direction for sustainable economic growth for 2011 to 2028. (Leyte Samar Daily Express)