DOF: Philippines incurred $10-billion losses, damages due to climate-related hazards in last 10 years

The Philippines has incurred losses and damage worth at least P506.1 billion or approximately $10 billion from climate-related hazards over a decade, the Department of Finance (DOF) said Tuesday.

In a statement, the DOF emphasized the country’s extreme vulnerability to the climate crisis despite contributing only 0.3% of the planet’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Citing data it gathered, the Finance department said the amount lost to climate-related hazard makes up 98.2% of the country’s total estimated losses from 2010 to 2020 of P515.51 billion or around $10.6 billion.

This staggering amount is equivalent to an annual average of P48.9 billion,  which is about 0.33% of the annual average gross domestic product (GDP) of the Philippines, the DOF said.

Located in the typhoon belt and the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines constantly experiences unavoidable losses and damage amounting to 0.5% of its annual GDP primarily from an increasingly unpredictable climate, the agency said.

The Philippines is struck by around 20 tropical cyclones every year and an almost daily occurrence of seismic shocks.

Being a climate-vulnerable country, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the Philippines has much at stake in reversing the devastating effects of global warming.

“As I have said on many occasions, I am determined to set the Philippines as an example for all nations in setting the standards for mitigating the impact of climate change. I want us to be a world leader in this area through our climate ambition,” Dominguez said.

Dominguez, who is chairman-designate of the Climate Change Commission (CCC), heads the Philippine delegation to the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).

“This is the 26th time that the COP will be meeting. Yet, little action has been taken. Nothing would please us more than seeing the countries that emitted and continue to emit the most greenhouse gasses to accept the responsibility of financing the transition to carbon neutrality,” Dominguez said.

The Philippines has committed to a projected greenhouse gas emission reduction and avoidance of 75% from 2020 to 2030 for the sectors of agriculture, wastes, industry, transport, and energy, as its National Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement.

According to the DOF, the latest Fiscal Risk Statement (FRS) released this year by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTR) “cites the country’s exposure to natural disasters as a major source of downside risks for the National Government’s fiscal position.”

The FRS is drawn up annually to identify the fiscal risks to which the Philippines is exposed to, and at the same time, outlines the key programs and measures put up by the government to manage these risks.

Being an archipelago, the Philippines is also greatly threatened by rising sea levels as an offshoot of global warming, according to the DOF.

Based on satellite observations, the level of the Philippines’ surrounding seas has increased at a rate of 5.7 to 7.0 millimeters per year (mm/year) from 1993 to 2015, which is twice the highest global average rate of 2.8 to 3.6 mm/year observed between 1993 and 2010.

Sea level rise, which has been identified by the CCC’s reconstituted National Panel of Technical Experts (NPTE) as among the top 10 climate-induced risks in the country, is putting 64 coastal provinces, 822 coastal municipalities, and 25 major coastal cities at extreme risk, according to the DOF.

It said that the country had lost about 68% and 82% corals and seagrass cover, respectively, from 2009 to 2016, which was exacerbated by climate change impacts, such as coral bleaching and ocean acidification.

This has contributed to the dwindling fish catch as commercial fish move from warm to cooler and deep waters, it said.—AOL, GMA News