GLASGOW—Philippine Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has underscored the importance of the “blended approach” or sustainable orchestration of grants, investments, and subsidies to make climate finance work for its beneficiaries.

In his intervention during a ministerial dialogue on climate finance held Thursday morning (Manila time), Secretary Dominguez said that because the funds involved in these three elements come from taxpayers and investors, accountability and transparency should be ensured both on the part of the beneficiary and donor countries to guarantee the prudent use of such climate finance aid.

As one of the key elements of the blended approach to climate finance, grants should be used to improve the capacity of local communities in climate-vulnerable areas to undertake mitigation and adaptation measures, said Secretary Dominguez, who heads the Philippine delegation to the 26th United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) being held in this city.

He said these grants should come in the form of educational or technical assistance programs to help people conceive and execute localized projects on the ground.

Investments, meanwhile, should focus on programs and projects that will unlock more business opportunities, create new jobs, and lead to energy self-reliance in the long run, Secretary Dominguez said.

He said that subsidies, another crucial element of climate finance, will address the financial costs and risks of communities transitioning to a climate-resilient economy.

Communities, for instance, need financial aid during the transition period when they start to gradually shift to renewable energy (RE) sources replacing power plants that use fossil fuels.

“This blended approach should be at the heart of climate finance. Given that such funds come from investors and taxpayers, accountability and transparency must be ensured. Beneficiary countries need to constantly assure their donors and taxpayers and investors that their money is being used prudently,” Secretary Dominguez said during the 4th High-Level Ministerial Dialogue on Long-Term Finance.

The Ministerial Dialogue is part of the series of high-level meetings being held here as part of the two-week UN COP26 hosted this year by the United Kingdom (UK) in partnership with Italy.

The dialogue had three panel discussions. Secretary Dominguez was part of the second panel discussion, which tackled the progress made by countries to develop a financial system to support a net-zero and climate-resilient future.

Secretary Dominguez was joined by Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer of the UK; Azucena Arbeleche, Minister of Economy and Finance of Uruguay; Alison Rose, Chief Executive of NatWest Group; and Mathias Cormann, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Secretary Dominguez, who is also the Chairman-designate of the Philippines’ Climate Change Commission (CCC), stressed during his intervention that the Philippines is firm in its position that those who have emitted and continue to emit the most greenhouse gases must bear the largest financial burden in our transition to carbon neutrality.

“The Philippines, however, will not wait for Western nations to get their act together. Climate change is here. It’s happening. We are moving ahead with the implementation of actual projects on the grounds to enable us to meet our commitments,” he said.

He said the “Philippines is determined to move ahead even as other countries hesitate” on carrying out their climate ambition.

Secretary Dominguez said among the Philippines’ initiatives is the launching of its Sustainable Finance Roadmap to mobilize public and private investments in green projects.

He said the Philippines is also prepared to initiate a landmark project under the Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM) facility to accelerate the country’s transition to RE or clean energy.

The Philippines has also gathered its best scientists through the CCC’s National Panel of Technical Experts (NPTE) to craft and help execute localized programs to fight climate change, Secretary Dominguez said.

As its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement, the Philippines has committed to a projected greenhouse gas emission reduction and avoidance of 75 percent from 2020 to 2030 for the agriculture, wastes, industry, transport, and energy sectors.

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