AKP’s current advocacy on addressing climate-related loss and damage (L&D) formally began on 8 November 2023, the 10th anniversary of the landfall of supertyphoon Haiyan (Yolanda) on Philippine shores. It participated in the 30-day “Climate Justice Walk” that started in Manila and ended at Tacloban City, Leyte, known as the “Ground Zero” for Haiyan’s impacts; this pilgrimage led to the declaration of a state of climate emergency by a few local governments, such as the province of Albay and the city of Catbalogan, Samar.
While in Tacloban City, the network hosted the “Found and Rebuilt” L&D forum, where former Philippine negotiator Yeb Saño presented the idea of translating L&D, which has been based on the global narrative of accountability, into a nationally-relevant issue. It also engaged in a roundtable discussion with Ian Fry, then-UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and climate change, to present the Philippine context on L&D.
Since then, AKP has been leading the coordination of Philippine CSOs in critical engagements, in aid of advancing the L&D agenda in the national context. Among its initiatives are the following:
On 30 August 2024, together with CREST and FES, AKP hosted the first Civil Society Convening on Loss and Damage in Quezon City. A total of 50 representatives from different sectors (i.e., Indigenous Peoples, labor, youth, farmers, women) participated in this meeting that defined the scope of work that the network will conduct on advancing the L&D agenda, covering topics such as the CLIMA Bill and engagements relevant to the FRLD.
AKP and its members, such as Tebtebba, ICSC, and Oxfam Pilipinas, are among the Active Observers attending the Board meetings under the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage. They work together with global CSO partners in championing for the FRLD to step up its ambition, speed up its operationalization, and scale up its resource mobilization. They also call for direct community access to L&D finance and a “bottom-up” approach to implementing solutions.
AKP regularly communicates with the House of Representatives Committee on Climate Change, including authors of the CLIMA Bill, to provide evidence-based advice on addressing L&D issues in the Philippines. This includes updates about the outcomes of FRLD Board meetings, the ongoing formulation of the Philippines’ proposal to said financing mechanism, and developing a potential national L&D policy framework.
AKP conducts focused group discussions with representatives of the most vulnerable sectors and communities throughout the Philippines, using on-site and online spaces to maximize its reach. These discussions enable the network to anchor its positioning on lived realities on the ground, while also helping communities not usually included in policy discourse to have their voices be heard in addressing L&D.
AKP is also actively participating in the ongoing development of the L&D Priority Support Framework, which would form the basis of the country’s proposal to the FRLD. This would also serve as both a basis for the development of a potential national L&D policy framework, and a key component of the Philippines’ engagements throughout 2026 as the Chair of the ASEAN, having identified climate action as part of its priority agenda.
Aksyon Klima Pilipinas 