Climate advocacy network Aksyon Klima Pilipinas criticized the 6th meeting of the Board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), saying it yielded “more drama than meaningful progress” in delivering support to communities hardest hit by the climate crisis.

The meeting, held in Lapu-Lapu City, was intended to finalize procedures for disbursing USD250 million in grants to developing nations over the next two years. 

However, civil society groups expressed concern that the Fund’s Secretariat remains unequipped to process incoming proposals or begin disbursements.

In its official statement, Aksyon Klima said the final day of the meeting “felt like a condensed version of the infamously-slow climate negotiations: disagreements between developed nations and developing countries, pointing fingers at one another, raising voices, huddles, and going overtime.”

The group stressed that the Fund was never intended to be a forum for prolonged debate but a mechanism to deliver urgent finance to those most in need. 

It warned that what is being framed as a procedural bottleneck may actually reflect the reluctance of wealthy nations to contribute more funds.

“What is lost in all the debates on the details by the Board is the elephant in the room that developed countries do not want us to notice,” the group said. “It is not exactly about the lack of capacity to manage proposals, but the lack of actual money committed by developed countries. USD250 million is simply not enough.”

Aksyon Klima underscored that the Fund exists because of three decades of advocacy by civil society, people’s organizations, and frontline communities. 

The group called for meaningful participation of non-government stakeholders, especially the marginalized, in all stages of the Fund’s operations, including through national governments.

“The people have the right to meaningfully participate in this process,” it said. “Moving forward, the Fund must ensure that all non-government stakeholders… are informed and are able to access all available spaces for engagement.”

The network also committed to engaging with the Philippine government to help develop a national policy framework on loss and damage. 

It stressed the importance of ensuring that the needs of the most affected communities are reflected in national policies and in accessing support from the Fund.

While it reaffirmed its willingness to take part in future processes, Aksyon Klima said that engagement must be “a two-way relationship.”

“It is time for the Fund to step up, speed up its operations, and scale up its resources for the most vulnerable,” the group said.