FILIPINOS are getting tired of being resilient, especially to the climate crisis.
During these past few days, we have observed signs that emphasize just how important it is for the Philippines to step up its actions against loss and damage (L&D), or climate risks and impacts that are simply too much for our current capacities.
Firstly, the Philippines has been battered by rains and floods caused by Crising, Habagat, or in some cases both of them, we are reminded once more of the reality of the climate crisis.
Secondly, it is ironic that while all of this is happening, the most recent Board meeting under the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) was taking place last week near Cebu City, unknown to many communities within an hour's drive away from the venue. A few days after the meeting, Cebu City declared a state of calamity due to the massive flooding.
Thirdly, the 20th Congress is about to formally resume its sessions, with several bills already filed. If the previous Congress has shown anything, it is that climate and environmental issues are becoming a bigger focus in the legislative agenda.
What all of these point to is that the Philippines needs to "walk the talk" in addressing L&D to protect the most vulnerable communities and sectors.
This is why a priority of the 20th Congress must be passing the Climate Accountability (CLIMA) Bill into law.
Why?
The country currently lacks a national law that is dedicated to addressing L&D. This issue requires a different approach from simply responding to disasters or implementing flood control projects.
L&D deals with unavoidable consequences of climate pollution: extreme sudden events like typhoons, impacts of slow onset events like sea level rise and ocean acidification, including non-economic costs, such as displacement, loss of biodiversity, and impacts of mental health.
As long as polluters don't pay, it is the most vulnerable countries and communities that will keep doing so.
The CLIMA Bill tackles this by strengthening existing policies to hold corporations accountable for human rights violations resulting from their
pollutive actions. By strengthening guidelines for emissions reductions and sustainable practices of businesses, it protects individuals, communities, and ecosystems from further harm.
It would also steer businesses towards more long-term sustainable operations that allow them to keep growing, while still contributing to national economic development and supporting the attainment of the nation's climate mitigation targets; this includes targets to be included in the updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
The proposed legislation would also create a domestic equivalent to the FRLD -- a national L&D fund that would provide monetary support to communities hardest hit by these extreme climate events. It is similar to the People's Survival Fund created more than a decade ago, although this deals more with adaptation projects and hopefully disburses money a lot faster.
The enactment of the CLIMA Bill would benefit the Philippines's engagements under the FRLD and vice-versa. In an era when temperatures are rising, floods are also rising, and along with them the costs of inaction, this potential synergy can further enable the nation to avoid potential losses and spur more meaningful action.
How?
For the next few months, the FRLD will implement a grants-based program worth USD250 million, for which the Philippines is able to access.
Eligible activities for this include supporting responses right after extreme weather events, recovering from impacts of slow onset events, and developing national L&D action plans.
Hypothetically, the Philippines could qualify for support through this program to help communities recover from either the heat wave that struck in April last year or this recent extreme rainfall. The national L&D fund to be created under the CLIMA Bill is the perfect fit to be the receiving entity for any support from this global entity.
Setting up a direct-access mechanism for individuals and communities affected by climate impacts is a key part of a potential national L&D fund. If passed into law, it could provide a best practice that can inform decision-making under the FRLD, wherein enabling direct community access to its funds has been one of the most contentious issues discussed in the previous year.
Ultimately, the CLIMA Bill provides a similar value to the FRLD: intended to "fill in the gaps," to do what existing mechanisms cannot. It is about empowering those hardest-hit by extreme impacts to seek justice for what they have experienced. It is a reflection that for us to respond to human-induced changes in the climate, our approach also has to change.
The CLIMA Bill intends to highlight the course of action against the root cause of L&D and the climate crisis: polluters must pay.
When?
For all the discourse in Congress about updating national climate policies and strategies, L&D has not received as much attention as adaptation or mitigation. Amid all these talks about economic benefits, how businesses can keep growing, and all the statistics, we cannot let the human dimension of this crisis be deemphasized under these numbers.
Make no mistake: the CLIMA Bill is not intended to be the only climate solution.
It is meant to "fill in the gaps," while complementing other strategies, such as the NDC and the National Adaptation Plan, to ensure as complete of an approach to climate action as possible. Those flood control projects that constitute a third of this year's national budget would also help -- assuming they are properly implemented in the first place.
Its enactment would not only fill in a critical policy gap in national climate governance; it would also enable the translation of supposed national and global gains on climate work into benefits that can be felt at the local level.
Through its leadership under the FRLD and the timely enactment of the CLIMA Bill in the 20th Congress, the Philippines has never been better-positioned to set an example of how to respond to L&D. When it comes to turning its calls for climate justice into concrete actions, there is no better time than now. (John Leo Algo)