In an unprecedented show of unity at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, more than 80 countries from across the global north and south have joined forces to demand what should have been established decades ago—a comprehensive roadmap to phase out fossil fuels.

We, The Climate Reality Project Philippines, express our disappointment that the final COP30 text omitted any mention of the roadmap that will structure a framework for countries to gradually transition their dependence on coal, natural gas, and oil.  We maintain cautious hope that this critical gap will be addressed through the Brazilian presidency’s plan to develop roadmaps for both transitioning away from fossil fuels and ending deforestation. 

From this round of climate talks, we were saddened by the Philippines’ deafening silence on the roadmap, despite the glaring impacts of the climate crisis all over the country for decades, especially in the recent months from Typhoon Kalmaegi and Typhoon Fung Wong. Even as renewable energy is evidently increasingly cost-effective and climate impacts intensify, the outcomes of the conference revealed that the political will to an international binding transition plan remains hamstrung by a minority of powerful petrostates. 

On a brighter note, we acknowledge that the recent climate summit secured important wins on finance for climate-vulnerable nations bearing the brunt of climate change, including the Philippines. However, we believe these figures still do not close the gap on climate finance, and the pledges fail to meet the required urgency to avoid catastrophic impacts. 

While the COP30 outcome promised to triple adaptation finance by 2035, the new deadline is a critical five-year delay from the 2030 timeline desperately needed by developing countries. Important questions on the quality, accessibility, and nature of these funds also remain largely unresolved.

One financing mechanism is the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage, with only USD 788 million pledged to date, is woefully inadequate to address the massive economic and non-economic losses already being a cross to bear by our country, along with other vulnerable states and communities. 

For an archipelago like the Philippines, regularly battered by intensifying typhoons, this financial gap represents a threat to advancing sustainable development and community resilience. 

We commend that the Philippines is among the earliest countries to support the Belém Action Mechanism for a Global Just Transition (BAM), a breakthrough proposal for states to place just transition in the driving action towards a low-carbon economy. However, we are disturbed by the inconvenient truth: supporting a just transition framework and not calling out the primary cause of this crisis is an indefensible contradiction. To remain on the sidelines of the global phaseout movement equates to progress that is moving backwards. 

In addition, we urge the Philippine government and agencies to take a more active climate leadership by updating our Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and its Implementation Plan with more clarity on the processes undergone in identifying our mitigation targets and whether these will propel us in achieving our committed 75% emissions reductions.

We appreciate the efforts to convene stakeholders in the NDC process. However, we share the frustrations of civil society and other stakeholders with the recent preparations, which could have been more cohesive and transparent, particularly as no draft of the new NDC was presented before the national consultation. Also, we push for robust and just national targets, and call for greater transparency and inclusivity in implementing the NDC sectoral targets.

The Mutirão spirit called up by the Brazilian Presidency speaks volumes in our own tradition of bayanihan, our own communal unity for achieving great things through collective action. The world needs the Philippines and our leaders to join the courageous group of nations in taking the road less traveled and commit to leaving the sidelines of the unfinished business of COP30.