President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed into law Wednesday Republic Act No. 12019, known as the “Loss and Damage Fund Board Act.”
The new law grants juridical personality and legal capacity to the Loss and Damage Fund Board, which will respond to loss and damage due to climate change.
With the passage of R.A. No. 12019, the Board, as the governing body of the Fund, shall have juridical personality with full legal capacity to contract, acquire, and dispose of immovable and movable property, as well as institute legal proceedings.
It will also have the legal capacity to negotiate, conclude, and enter into a hosting arrangement with the World Bank as interim trustee and host of the Fund’s secretariat, and to undertake activities as necessary for discharging its roles and functions.
As a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, the Philippine government lauds the creation of a fund for responding to loss and damage (Fund) under previous climate conferences and agreements.
The government welcomes the Fund’s establishment to finance and assist the most vulnerable developing countries in responding to and recovering from losses and damages caused by climate change.
To advance climate and disaster risk resilience, the government adopts a whole-of-government approach in creating and implementing effective policy frameworks and mobilizing broad and innovative sources of climate financing to address loss and damage.
It also supports the hosting of the governing Board of the Fund in the Philippines to accelerate access to critical climate finance and investments for future-proofing the economy and ensuring sustainable and inclusive growth for all Filipinos. – IP
