Philippines warns of climate finance gap threatening vulnerable nations

The Philippines has called on United Nations member states to convert climate forecasts into concrete preparedness measures ahead of COP31, warning that a widening gap between adaptation finance pledges and actual needs threatens development gains across vulnerable economies.

Speaking at the Pre-COP31 plenary discussion in Nadi, Fiji, Oct. 9, Climate Change Commission Vice Chairperson and Executive Director Robert Borje cited a World Meteorological Organization forecast that the current El Niño would intensify to very strong levels and was highly likely to persist through February 2027.

"The forecast gives us a clear warning, but also a window to prepare and respond," Borje said, adding, "We must build right at first sight, so every investment reduces risk rather than locks it in."

The core of Manila's intervention centered on a financing gap that risks leaving developing nations exposed to escalating climate shocks. The United Nations Environment Program estimates that developing countries will need $310–365 billion a year for adaptation by 2035, Borje said.

Against that benchmark, international public adaptation finance to developing countries stood at just $26 billion in 2023 — less than one-tenth of the estimated annual need, according to the CCC.

Borje acknowledged that water and wastewater systems may receive the largest sectoral share of tracked adaptation finance, but argued the overall pool remains structurally insufficient.

"A large share of an inadequate pool remains inadequate," he said. He also flagged that ocean finance remains limited and poorly tracked — a concern with direct relevance to small island developing states and archipelagic nations whose food security, fisheries trade, and coastal infrastructure depend on healthy marine ecosystems.

Borje pressed for climate finance that is adequate, predictable, new, additional, scaled up, and easily accessible to developing countries.

Borje urged that finance flows be measured transparently, offered on fair terms, and directed to national and local institutions responsible for delivery. Technology transfer and capacity-building must also be accelerated, he said.

Borje said COP31 should support nations in formulating, submitting, and implementing their Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans, advancing mitigation and adaptation simultaneously.

Leading up to COP31

Southeast Asian nations are also pressing for simpler and more direct pathways to climate finance ahead of COP31, as the region's civil society warns that current funding flows remain critically insufficient to meet the scale of climate impacts already being felt across the region.

During the ASEAN Energy Business Forum at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City on Oct. 8, the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities said the challenge is not simply to mobilize more climate finance but to ensure that support reaches countries, communities, and interventions that need it most — and in time.

"Building on the precedent set last year, the ASEAN joint statement on COP31 should unequivocally call for stronger climate finance delivery that encompasses all forms of sources – domestic and international, public and private – while ensuring that these efforts are grounded in transparency and accountability," ICSC Executive Director Angelo dela Cruz said.

Dela Cruz also called for the development of an ASEAN-led resource mobilization mechanism to de-risk climate action, including nature-based solutions and climate adaptation projects, which he said are known to be effective yet struggle to attract financing.

A regional coordinating mechanism, he said, could also serve as a platform for ASEAN member states to exchange best practices and build shared knowledge on accessing climate finance, particularly around project proposal development and pipelining.