President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. expressed his gratitude to Germany on Thursday for cooperating with the Philippines in addressing climate change, during a meeting in Malacañang.
Marcos emphasized that Germany has been a vital partner for the country in this area, particularly in introducing important technologies useful to the Philippines.
Last month, Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga stated that the Philippines, as a member of the ‘Loss and Damage’ Board, would prioritize urging other nations to address biodiversity destruction and species loss in countries vulnerable to climate change.
Loyzaga mentioned that the pledges for the Loss and Damage Fund as of December 2023 totaled US$792 million, far exceeding the initial expectation of US$200 million.
However, Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock expressed her willingness to tackle the Loss and Damage Fund in its cooperation with the Philippines regarding climate change during a meeting.
“This is also something which we believe can be a next step in our cooperation on the climate issue even mentioning the loss and damage fund. This is really a dear to my heart because I was doing a lot of policy beforehand. We said we have to do something about loss and damage,” Baerbock said.
He said that the topic of climate change is an area where bilateral relations can be strengthened. He cited the interest of major German companies in investing in the Philippine renewable energy sector.
Baerbock added that this would involve discussions on raw materials and skilled labor.
“This is really a field where it’s a win-win situation or even a triple win situation for employees, for workers, also for our countries,” Baerbock said.
