Philippines 10th among 18 Asian countries in terms of vulnerability and preparedness to climate change — Oxfam

Following Severe Tropical Storm Paeng that left 121 people reported dead and 33 missing, Oxfam released its "Climate Finance in Asia" report, which said that of 18 Asian countries studied, the Philippines ranked 10th in terms of vulnerability and preparedness to climate change.

The ranking, based on the Notre-Dame Global Adaptation Initiative Index, also shows the Philippines at 113 out of 182 countries for 2020.

"The Philippines, like many other Asian countries, ranks really high in terms of climate vulnerability and really low when it comes to climate readiness," Oxfam Pilipinas Country Director Lot Felizco said in a statement.

"Even though we are working on measures to improve our preparedness, every time we are hit by extreme weather events such as ‘Paeng,’ we have to deal with further loss, making it even harder to be ready for the climate crisis,”

According to Felizco, the Philippines and other climate-vulnerable countries in Asia continue to grapple with the problem of having to face the effects of a climate emergency that more developed countries have caused and benefited from.

"This is why we are calling for better and sufficient climate finance that would allow countries like the Philippines to adequately face the effects of climate change," he said.

According to the study, the 18 Asian countries included in the study are collectively responsible for only 42% of global emissions, "dropping to just 15% when Chinese emissions are excluded," it said.

But they are among the most affected by climate change.

In 2009, developed countries that have largely contributed to global emissions promised $100B in climate finance to developing countries every year from 2020 to 2025.

Unfortunately, "This promise has not been met," The Climate Finance in Asia report read. In 2020 for instance, only $83B was committed.

"Climate finance and support from players who contribute the most to climate change are important in correcting injustice and saving the lives of millions of people, especially those in the poorest communities and in marginalized groups," Felizco said.

The report, which is first to analyze climate finance flows worth $113B from 2013-2020 in the 18 Asian countries, finds that Asian countries only receive 25% of the reported global financial flows each year.

Majority of these flows into Asia came as loans. Only 17% of bilateral climate finance and 6% of multilateral climate finance to Asia came in the form of grants, Oxfam said.

"Asia is being devastated by climate-driven disaster after disaster, taking lives and costing billions. Pakistan underwater. China and India baked by 50-degree heatwaves. Bangladeshis leaving farmland made unusable by saltwater. Philippines hit by worsening typhoons," said Sunil Acharya, Oxfam’s Asia Regional Policy and Campaigns Coordinator.

"[Climate change] is becoming an irreversible humanitarian crisis across Asia where half the population already live below the poverty-line. People are nearing the limits of what they can do to cope," Acharya said. "They need more help, not debt, and more say in how it happens."

Climate finance as well as loss and damage are seen as among the key issues that will be tackled in the upcoming Cop 27 in Egypt this month. — RSJ, GMA News