Climate Change Risk in the Philippines — Policy Lags & Corruption
The Philippines has recently slipped 12 places to 19th in the Climate Change Performance Index, signaling a drop to a “medium” performer in its climate policy and mitigation efforts. Experts behind the ranking point to the absence of a national net-zero emissions target, lack of intermediate goals, and missing long-term climate strategy as major weaknesses. While the country has commendable policies like the Renewable Energy Act, pace of coal phaseout is slow, and social/environmental safeguards are viewed as inadequate — for example, some hydropower or floating solar projects have raised concerns about impacts on indigenous communities and fisherfolk. Meanwhile, corruption is severely undermining climate adaptation efforts. Greenpeace Philippines warns that as much as ₱1.089 trillion in “climate-tagged” government funds — especially those earmarked for flood-control projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) — may have been misused or ...