The Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Climate Change Commission (CCC), recently convened climate leaders from the public and private sectors for the State of Climate Change Forum at the Makati Diamond Residences, Makati City.
Now on its third run, the annual forum serves as an avenue for global and local climate leaders from various sectors to foster constructive dialogue on disaster and risk reduction, and climate change adaptation and mitigation.
This year, with the theme “Natural Capital: Investing in Forests for Water Sustainability,” the Forum, attended by over 200 multi-sectoral representatives, highlighted the critical role of forest ecosystems in sustaining watersheds, innovative financing mechanisms for climate resilience investments, and nature-based solutions (NbS) for environmental sustainability.
In the Keynote Address delivered by DENR Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and International Affairs, Atty. Jonas R. Leones, the DENR Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla highlighted the importance of multi-sectoral collaboration in creating and maintaining vital structures that safeguard water security. “The private sector has a pivotal role here. Your innovation, capital, and efficiency are indispensable. We’re looking at avenues such as impact investing, developing robust payments for ecosystem services, and robust public-private partnerships that leverage private sector expertise, technology, and capital to accelerate project implementation in forest, watershed, and water management, ” he said.
In alignment with this, PDRF President Butch Meily emphasized the private sector’s role and commitment in turning the Philippines’ high-risk status (2025 World Risk Index) into an opportunity for global leadership in climate finance. “In this changing world, there is one constant – the commitment of private companies to play a role in calamities. The key to our future lies in the government, civil society, the private sector, and other groups working to prepare for the impacts of the degradation of our environment as development and population increase”, said Meily.
The High-Level Panel Discussion with Secretary Borje, Atty. Allan Barcena (Energy Development Corporation), Sarah Bergado (Manila Water), June Cheryl Cabal-Revilla (Metro Pacific Investment Corporation), and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong focused on science-based data, business cases, and models that work; and the structural bottlenecks, policy gaps, and the reality of the “Ridge to Reef” approach.
CCC Vice Chairperson and Executive Director, Secretary Robert E.A. Borje underscored the crucial role of data-driven public policies in climate adaptation. “It is no longer about how many policies we have but whether those policies change behaviours, investments, and outcome. Preventive adaptation is about reducing exposure before losses materialize. It is about using science and data not just to inform plans, but to change decision rules,” said Secretary Borje.
Building on the insights from the High-Level Panel Discussion, succeeding climate sessions focused on technical discussions on climate finance and the ridge-to-reef approach to sustainability, respectively.
The first session, featuring Kevin Tagpinez (World Bank Group), John Adrian Narag (Department of Finance), and Rachelle Anne Miranda (Department of Science and Technology), tackled ways to unlock capital for green projects and leverage innovations for resilience. The last session, featuring Atty. Jose Andres Canivel (Forest Foundation Philippines), Dr. Rex Cruz (University of the Philippines Los Baños, Abegail Gatdula (Energy Development Corporation), and Atty. Arturo Fadriquela (DENR Forest Management Bureau), focused on integrated water resources management (IWRM) from the mountains to the coast.
This year’s Forum was made possible through the support of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc., First Philippine Holdings, Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, Makati Business Club, and the Liveable Cities Philippines.
