Over 200 Filipinos gathered outside the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City on December 2, 2024, calling on developed nations to fulfill their obligations by contributing “trillions, not billions” to the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD). The protest coincided with the FRLD’s fourth board meeting, held in its host country for the first time.
The Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD) led the demonstration, highlighting the inadequacy of the recently adopted $300 billion annual climate finance deal by 2035 at COP29. The agreement has been criticized by developing countries and civil society groups as grossly insufficient to address the escalating climate crisis.
APMDD coordinator Lidy Nacpil denounced the Global North for failing to deliver on their climate finance obligations, calling it a “huge injustice.” She emphasized that wealthier nations, who have contributed the most to global warming, are leaving vulnerable countries to suffer the worst impacts, citing devastating extreme weather events across Asia in 2024.
This year, Asia experienced unprecedented climate disasters, including deadly heatwaves in Pakistan that killed 568 people in six days, monsoon floods in Bangladesh that caused the worst flooding in a century and destroyed $282 million worth of crops, and landslides in Nepal that killed over 200 people and caused $127 million in losses. In the Philippines, El Niño damaged $162 million worth of agricultural products, affecting over 175,000 farmers and fisherfolk.
The FRLD, established during COP27 in 2022, has received only $731 million in pledges, far below the estimated $447 to $894 billion in annual losses and damages anticipated by 2030. The fund aims to help developing nations recover from climate-induced disasters, but activists say it needs significantly more resources to meet its goals.
The protesters also expressed concern over the decision to appoint the World Bank as the secretariat host of the FRLD. Citing the bank’s history of promoting loans with conditions that deepen inequality, Nacpil urged the FRLD board to maintain independence. She also criticized the World Bank’s $3.7 billion investment in fossil fuel projects as recently as 2022, calling it a conflict of interest.
“Loss and damage finance must be non-debt-creating, adequate, and free from conditionalities. The communities most affected by climate disasters deserve immediate and just support,” Nacpil said.
The mobilization underscored calls for increased transparency and grant-based funding to ensure that the FRLD fulfills its mission of providing equitable support to vulnerable communities.
