A few weeks ago, the Philippines secured the right to host the Board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (L&D Fund). After news outlets reported that the President had signed the bill granting the Board juridical personality and legal capacity to operate, I looked through the comments section to see how netizens would react to this achievement on the global stage.

I wasn’t surprised by what I saw. Some commenters pointed out that government officials might use this as an opportunity for corrupt practices. Others stated that the government should focus on more pressing issues, such as addressing inflation or improving food security.

While combating corruption and reducing the prices of basic commodities are undeniably important, these remarks highlight a broader challenge for the climate movement: making loss and damage (L&D) a relevant issue for the Filipino public.

A Significant Challenge

Even making climate change itself a popular and relatable issue for Filipinos is difficult, which is ironic considering the country is one of the most vulnerable to the crisis. Numerous studies have shown that while many Filipinos understand the threat posed by the climate crisis, few fully grasp how it specifically affects their daily lives. Unless it’s linked directly to concerns like putting food on the table or securing livelihoods, the climate crisis is often seen as a seasonal issue, only evident during typhoons, floods, or droughts.

As a result, it’s unlikely that climate change will be a priority issue during key decision-making periods, including the upcoming elections. This remains true despite the efforts of civil society groups to bring climate issues into national consciousness in past elections and despite several government officials acknowledging its significance for national development.

If climate change itself is hard to mainstream, the challenge becomes even more daunting with L&D, the nuances of which are still being debated and defined by experts worldwide.

This year, the nation’s reactive attitude has resurfaced once again. Over the past few months, we’ve experienced everything from record-breaking heat during the summer to widespread flooding in recent weeks. In both cases, classes were canceled, people lost days’ worth of income, and the economy suffered from lost productivity.

How many times must communities be directly hit by the impacts of climate change before the government takes meaningful action to prevent or minimize L&D?

The Blueprint

Fortunately, we aren’t starting from scratch. The Philippines already has the tools to mainstream L&D as an issue of national significance, with different sectors poised to play their roles in making this happen.

Under the recently-released National Adaptation Plan (NAP), the government has committed to integrating adaptation into the curriculum of schools, colleges, and universities. L&D is one of the topics included in this curriculum, thanks in part to the lobbying of Aksyon Klima Pilipinas, a climate civil society network, during the NAP’s development last year.

It is now up to agencies like the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education to ensure that this measure is properly implemented and that climate change is taught to current and future generations.

The government, at both national and local levels, remains a powerful voice that many Filipinos will listen to. While the current administration continues to call for climate justice from the Global North, it also has a responsibility to match this rhetoric with knowledge-building activities, capacity-building efforts, and the implementation of projects aimed at reducing climate vulnerabilities and responding to devastating impacts at the community level.

Civil Society’s Role

Civil society organizations (CSOs) will also play a key role in popularizing L&D. This sector has been instrumental in making L&D a global issue over the past three decades, ensuring that the voices of vulnerable groups—such as youth, women, and Indigenous Peoples—are heard by policymakers.

The Philippines has been a crucial player in L&D discussions, not only through its government but also through its CSO sector. Numerous groups across the country are working directly with local communities to reduce their climate risks and connect them with government agencies to address their concerns.

It’s vital for CSOs to spearhead national movement-building efforts, where their work is coordinated and the needs of the communities they represent are addressed. The voices of those most affected by the climate crisis must be heard, not just by government officials but also by the wider public, many of whom do not yet comprehend the full extent of the threat.

Strengthening collaboration among CSOs is also essential to hold climate and environmental policymakers accountable to their mandates and pledges. These officials, often criticized for being detached from non-governmental stakeholders, particularly those not linked to big business, must listen to the voices of communities rather than those with wealth and capital when it comes to addressing L&D.

The Long Road Ahead

Mainstreaming L&D will likely take years, even decades, given the political, social, and economic challenges that also make popularizing climate change difficult. But the costs of allowing “business as usual” to continue are far greater than the challenges we face.

For the sake of current and future generations, this is a fight worth taking on.

John Leo Algo is the National Coordinator of Aksyon Klima Pilipinas and the Deputy Executive Director for Programs and Campaigns at Living Laudato Si’ Philippines. He has been representing Philippine civil society at UN climate and environmental conferences since 2016 and has worked as a climate and environment journalist since 2016.