Marcos sees need to define climate change loss, damage in seeking reparation from rich nations

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. put to fore the need to define the damage and loss caused by climate change in seeking reparation from rich nations.         

Marcos, who is in Belgium for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-European Union Summit, has earlier pushed for a damage-loss fund to support developing countries impacted by climate change.                                                                                                                                                                                          Answering a query in a news conference about the EU's response to his proposal, Marcos said accepting the concept of damage and loss by both developed and developing countries was already a "big step."

However, he said, "the actual number is  very, very hard to determine."

"Beyond that, even if we are able to quantify the damage and loss, say it’s 100 million dollars, whatever that number is, what do we do with that number, who do we go to, who pays the bulk of it?" he said.

Marcos said he sensed willingness from developed nations to participate and help in climate change mitigation, and help vulnerable countries like the Philippines in mitigation.

"But how to provide that help is still a question that we cannot definitively answer, that is why a lot has to be done and I have brought it up with the EU and I said this is an important issue, especially for the Philippines and for many other countries," he said.

"The work that we have ahead of us is to be able to come to some kind of an agreement as to what damage and loss actually means and what how will the compensation for such damage and loss be made," he added.

"I think until we are able to determine that, I think we should of what we can do in the future and I think that has great potential to be put into effect in the short term rather than in the very long term," Marcos also said. —LDF, GMA Integrated News