The Philippines has called for environmental commitments to come with the money, technology and institutional support developing countries need to carry them out.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Juan Miguel “Mitch” Cuna made the call Wednesday during the High-Level Political Dialogue on “Renewing Environmental Multilateralism” at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Cuna said countries are being asked to take on more environmental commitments even as many developing nations continue to face limited access to funding, technology and technical capacity.
“Consensus is hard to achieve, negotiations are becoming more complex, and countries are expected to implement a growing number of commitments regarding climate change, biodiversity, pollution, and other environmental issues,” Cuna said.
“For many developing countries, these demands are not matched by comparable access to finance, technology, and capacity building,” he said.
Cuna said environmental agreements should not stop at setting targets and securing commitments. They should also make it possible for countries to put those commitments into practice.
For the Philippines, he said, this means making existing international environmental systems easier to implement and reducing duplication among institutions, reporting requirements and financing mechanisms.
He said streamlining these systems could improve coordination and allow more resources to reach projects and programs at the national level.
“Legal clarity must be matched by the means to implement those obligations,” Cuna said, referring to the International Court of Justice advisory opinion on states’ obligations related to climate change.
He said developing countries need greater access to financing, technology and institutional capacity if international environmental commitments are to produce results on the ground.
“For the Philippines, an effective treaty must be ambitious but implementable, taking into account national circumstances and capabilities, and provide adequate finance, technology transfer and capacity building, particularly for developing countries,” Cuna said.
Philippines calls for more coordinated environmental action
Cuna also urged countries to improve coordination among international environmental agreements, noting that many environmental problems are connected.
Climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, land degradation, water stress and pressure on marine ecosystems can overlap, creating additional demands on governments that must respond through multiple international frameworks.
Cuna proposed compatible reporting systems, shared scientific information, coordinated technical assistance and better-aligned financing mechanisms.
He said these measures could reduce the workload for developing countries while allowing existing environmental agreements to retain their respective mandates.
The Philippines also called for stronger cooperation on environmental problems that cross national borders, including transboundary pollution and threats to marine ecosystems and biodiversity corridors.
The discussion comes as countries continue to negotiate how international environmental commitments can be translated into action, particularly in developing nations that face resource and capacity constraints.
