PH, Germany sign climate resilience agreement

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The Philippines and Germany have signed an agreement for a project that focused on bolstering cooperation for climate resilience, biodiversity conservation, and low-carbon development.

An Implementation Agreement was signed for the Transformative Actions for Climate and Ecological Protection and Development (TRANSCEND) Project. The project is supported by €32.702 million in funding from Germany’s International Climate Initiative (IKI).

“TRANSCEND does not carry these national commitments on its own. Its contribution is focused: work in selected landscapes and sectors that connects local activity with national priorities,” Climate Change Commission (CCC) Vice Chairperson and Executive Director Robert E.A. Borje said.

“The point is not to add a climate label to work already under way. It is to make climate risk, ecosystem condition, and emissions part of how development choices are made,” he added.

Borje said that the project would help connect local activities with the Philippines’ broader climate commitments, as climate considerations needed to be integrated into public investment, infrastructure, enterprise, local planning, and livelihoods.

Apart from Borje, the agreement was also signed by Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary Analiza Rebuelta-Teh, German Development Cooperation (GIZ) Country Director Immanuel Gebhardt, and TRANSCEND Program Manager Johanna Sibbert.

“The unique selling point of TRANSCEND is that it works across adaptation, mitigation, and biodiversity conservation,” Sibbert said.

“It also supports the government at the national and subnational levels, working with development partners to advance the country’s climate and biodiversity commitments,” she added.

TRANSCEND will operate in Luzon, Panay, and Northern Mindanao, with interventions planned in ecosystem conservation and restoration, urban ecosystem-based adaptation, and more, with the goal of incorporating climate and environmental concerns into development planning and implementation.

“That is the most important project for Filipino-German cooperation and for GIZ. TRANSCEND is the biggest program of its kind, bringing together multiple sectors and partners to address climate change and biodiversity loss,” Gebhardt said. —VAL, GMA News