THE climate crisis has never been more evident to Filipinos than in 2024. Communities felt both sides of extreme weather, from record-setting heat indices in the "summer" months to the unprecedented six storms hitting the nation in just four weeks.
This is why the Philippines' participation in the recent climate negotiations (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan is crucial. It was an opportunity to secure more support for implementing its intended strategies to adapt and respond to impacts. It provided a chance for its government delegation to champion climate justice by demanding accountability from developed countries that caused this crisis.
More importantly, the government has presented the road to climate action for the Philippines in 2025 through the following themes.
Just transition
Reducing climate pollution (or greenhouse gas emissions) and adapting to climate impacts must be balanced with attaining poverty alleviation, job security, socioeconomic development, and other national targets. "Just transition" is the term used to describe the long-term process that aims to achieve all of these while ensuring no one is left behind.
In Baku, the government unveiled its plans for developing the strategy for implementing just transition nationwide. They presented a 12-month process that began with a national consultation last October, with the resulting framework to be launched at next year's negotiations (COP30) in Brazil.
Energy, transport, labor, agriculture, and waste were named as priority sectors to focus on in this process, in acknowledgment of the economy-wide implications of such a transition. It also aims to conduct sectoral consultations to collect insights from civil society groups, trade unions, academic institutions, youth, women, indigenous peoples, and other non-government stakeholders on this matter.
Yet one looming question remains for just transition at the national level that was also evident at COP29: how to transition away from fossil fuels. The Senate recently approved bills promoting the growth of natural gas, aiming to replace coal as a main energy source for the country. Despite being promoted as a 'transition fuel' while waiting for renewable energy technologies to mature more, the bills fail to set a clear plan for when and how gas would be phased out.
Carbon markets
One of the very few significant outcomes of COP29 is on making progress on establishing the operations of carbon markets. Under these platforms, countries that exceed their pledges for reducing their climate pollution (i.e., above the 75 percent target for the Philippines within the current decade) will earn credits, which can then be traded to another country who is underperforming in their own pledges. In return, that first country would receive additional support to further reduce its emissions.
The Philippine government has expressed its strong support for the establishment of carbon markets, including as a means to secure support from the private sector. It has positioned its strategies for reducing climate pollution (known as the NDC) and adapting to impacts (known as the National Adaptation Plan) as investment strategies, which would require finance within corporations, investors, and multilateral development banks like the Asian Development Bank.
With another potential withdrawal of the United States from the Paris climate agreement and the yet-again slow progress of the climate negotiations that do not yield enough public finance, expect the government to be more aggressive in setting up partnerships under carbon markets. This is evidenced by the announcement of a government roadmap on this matter at COP29 and bills such as the "Low Carbon Economy Investment Bill" and "Carbon Rights Bill" currently pending in Congress.
Carbon markets will remain a controversial matter that many civil society organizations will oppose, especially without guaranteed social and environmental safeguards that protect human rights, biodiversity, and ecosystems in place. Concerns on offsetting, double-counting, and greenwashing remain valid, as all of these would result in slowing down the lowering of climate pollution and more catastrophic impacts for nations like the Philippines.
Loss and damage
The Philippines will host three of the next four Board meetings of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), which aims to provide financing support for those hit the hardest by climate impacts. The first of these engagements will take place in early December, with both government personnel and at least ten Philippine civil society and community representatives inside the Board meeting.
Among the big questions to be addressed include how to provide and mobilize more funding for the FRLD, which currently sits at around USD720 million of pledges that have yet to become disbursable money. Another concern is the issue of direct community access, which would prevent unnecessary delays in the processing of claims for aid that has characterized other global climate and environmental funding mechanisms.
The outcomes of the FRLD Board meetings would also affect the development of another bill in Congress, the "Climate Accountability (CLIMA) Bill." This bill would not only strengthen the framework for holding polluters accountable for harming communities; it would also create a national counterpart to the FRLD.
Lessons from the historically-poor implementation of the People's Survival Fund and the inefficient supervision of its Board must be taken into account for what the Philippines would put forward with both the FRLD and the CLIMA Bill, the latter of which should be passed before COP30.
Next NDC
At COP29, the Philippines has expressed its plans to complete the just transition framework and the carbon market roadmap by the time of the next conference. Turning the CLIMA Bill into a law should be part of this list as well.
All of these would ultimately impact the other issue that would define the country's direction on climate action for the next decade: the NDC itself, which is also due before COP30. Are we ready to increase our self-determined promise to reduce climate pollution from the 75 percent target made three years ago? Is the current leadership willing to make this a true "whole-of-society" approach?
The roads have been laid out. The words have been spoken. Yet the fact remains: climate action speaks louder than words.
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John Leo is the national coordinator of Aksyon Klima Pilipinas and the deputy executive director for Programs and Campaigns of Living Laudato Si' Philippines. He is also a member of the Youth Advisory Group for Environmental and Climate Justice under the UNDP in Asia and the Pacific. He has been a climate and environment journalist since 2016.