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, a couple of weeks ago on July 12, 2024.
The development is seen as 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, operationalise the financial intermediary fund, and host of the Fund’s secretariat.
The Fund, which was operationalised at the COP28 UN Climate Change Conference in December 2023, 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 2024.
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 finalise the Host Country Agreement.
