Philippines selected to host the Board of the Fund for responding to loss and damage

The Board of the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage selected the Philippines as its host country at the Board’s second meeting in Songdo, South Korea, this week.

This is a major milestone, as the Philippines hosting the Board will grant the Board the legal personality needed, for example, to negotiate and enter into a hosting arrangement with the World Bank, which will be the interim trustee of the Fund, operationalize the financial intermediary fund, and host of the Fund’s secretariat.

The Fund, which was operationalized at the COP 28 UN Climate Change Conference last December, was established to help vulnerable countries recover from climate impacts.

The Board expressed its gratitude to the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Barbados, Eswatini, Kenya, Philippines and Togo who submitted proposals to host the Board in response to the Call for Proposals issued in May.

In announcing the decision, the Co-Chairs thanked all countries that put forward generous proposals and particularly the Philippines for its willingness to host the Board. The Board looks forward to working closely with the Philippines to ensure that the Board can fulfil its objectives promptly.

In the coming months, the Co-Chairs of the Board, supported by the interim secretariat, will undertake negotiations with the Government of the Philippines to finalize the Host Country Agreement.