The Philippine delegation to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) has declared that empowering local communities is the critical pathway to delivering large-scale, effective climate adaptation. The position was delivered during an Asian Development Bank (ADB) side event focused on whether local-level adaptation can achieve resilient outcomes at scale.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Assistant Secretary and Head of the Philippine Delegation, Noralene Uy, emphasized that scaling local-led action requires concrete national support. “From the national government’s perspective, the priority is to provide the enabling environment that allows local actors to advance adaptation actions effectively,” Uy stated at the event titled “Can Local Level Adaptation Deliver Resilient Outcomes at Scale.”
Assistant Secretary Uy stressed that implementing the Philippine National Adaptation Plan (NAP) 2023–2050 hinges on its localization. This means ensuring local governments and communities have direct access to finance, capacity development, and inclusive decision-making processes. The NAP targets eight highly vulnerable sectors: agriculture and food security, water resources, health, ecosystems, cultural heritage, infrastructure, human settlements, and energy.
Uy outlined specific national mechanisms designed to channel resources to the local level:
People’s Survival Fund (PSF): A dedicated domestic financing facility providing approximately USD 17 million annually for adaptation projects by local governments and communities. Uy noted its crucial role but acknowledged proposal volumes often exceed resources, prompting studies with UNDP to expand the fund with support from ADB and other partners.
Convergence Budgeting: A whole-of-government approach pooling resources from multiple agencies to support climate resilience, SDG catch-up, and water security initiatives.
Community-Driven Programs: Initiatives like those from the Department of Social Welfare and Development that utilize small grants for community co-created projects.
Uy provided a tangible example of a layered financing model: DENR is piloting blended approaches to deliver clean water via desalination to island communities. Local groups, such as women’s associations, manage the systems as enterprises, collecting minimal user fees for reinvestment. “This is a practical example of how grant funding, partnerships, and localized revenue-generation can work together to scale resilience solutions,” she explained.
In response to questions on how international partners like ADB and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) can help, Uy underscored the necessity of shared responsibility. “The government cannot do it alone. Adaptation is an all-of-society effort. What matters most is local ownership… We need them to own it and work with us,” she asserted.
The ADB side event brought together government representatives, experts, and development partners to exchange experiences on scaling local-level adaptation. The discussion highlighted evidence that community-led adaptation is highly effective but requires enabling factors like decentralized systems, market linkages, adaptive social protection, and robust climate information to be delivered at a scale matching the climate crisis.#
