MANILA, PHILIPPINES — On Monday, February 26, 2024, president Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. welcomed the Global Green Economic Institute (GGGI) to help the Philippines promote green economic and climate resilience through the Host Philippines Agreement.
President Marcos informed former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, now the assembly president and Council of GGGI chair, during his courtesy call in Malacañang, Manila.
Ban pledged his organization’s support for Marcos’ climate change efforts; in December last year, the President permitted the Philippine-GGGI HCA to establish its office in the Philippines. However, the agreement still needs to be signed by the Senate.
The President thanked GGGI for its help, expressing gratitude for their assistance. “We welcome climate change advice and assistance. I’m sure the deal will be ratified swiftly once you meet with the Senate President and senators,” President Marcos stated.
“All of us, in and out of government, have placed significant emphasis on this issue due to its significant impact. I hope we can find some helpful strategies,” the President emphasized.
He praised the Asia Development Bank (ADB) mitigation strategy for helping the Philippines adapt to climate change. The Philippines is one of the most vulnerable to climate-related natural calamities, which Ban noted.
The UN Secretary-General added that GGGI will cooperate with Philippine foreign, environment, and economic ministers.
In addition to visiting senators, the secretary-general will speak at the ADB on climate change and the SDGs.
The GGGI, headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, was founded at the 2012 Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development as an international intergovernmental treaty-based organization to support and promote strong, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth in developing countries and emerging economies.
Since 2012, GGGI has provided the Philippines with over USD13 million in technical assistance and capacity building to help it achieve its SDGs, particularly in climate resilience and green growth development.
GGGI also helped the Philippines create green finance portfolios and access international climate funds.
GGGI’s notable projects and local actions include:
- The Provincial Agriculture Center and four agri-MSME production facilities in Oriental Mindoro for incubation, facility rentals, and aggregator services linking local farmers to market and green job creation.
- Off-grid solar home systems deployment in disaster-vulnerable low-income communities in Surigao.
- Upscaling the Bataan Electric Public Transport Pro.
The Philippines initiatives and activities of GGGI total USD130.3 million.
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