Japan extends P10.2-B ODA for environment program of RP

Japan has extended a ¥24.8 billion (approximately P10.2 billion) official development assistance (ODA) loan to the Philippines to fund its Environment Development Program with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) as the conduit bank.

The amount will be channeled to local government units (LGUs), government-owned and controlled corporations, water districts, private corporations and water service providers.

The project will also provide DBP and other relevant organizations with technical assistance in order to mobilize, encourage and support activities and investments in environment-friendly projects, thus contributing to the protection of the environment and the conservation of natural resources.

It is also designed to target numerous sectors, including water resources, sanitation, new and renewable energy, industrial pollution control and solid waste management.

Japan is the biggest provider of ODA funds to the Philippines. The loan package has concessionary rates and long repayment terms.

Meanwhile, the World Bank reported that it has received $6.1 billion in pledges for the Climate Investment Funds.

According to the World Bank, the Climate Investment Funds is a pair of international investment instruments designed to provide interim, scaled-up funding to help developing countries in their efforts to mitigate increases in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapt to climate change.

The pledges come from industrialized countries — Australia, France, Germany, Japan, The Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

World Bank Group president Robert B. Zoellick said the fund was a concrete step towards the challenge of global climate change which would likewise led to poverty alleviation.

“Today, we are uniting to fight global climate change, but it is just the beginning,” Zoellick said. 

The Climate Investment Funds were created through a consultative process involving a series of multi-stakeholder design meetings and taking account of extensive global climate change consultations held by the World Bank Group over the past nine months. Consultations took place with potential recipients and donors, the United Nations family, other multilateral development banks (MDBs), civil society organizations and the private sector.

Two trust funds are being created under the Climate Investment Funds.

The Clean Technology Fund will invest in projects and programs in developing countries that contribute to the demonstration, deployment and transfer of low-carbon technologies. The projects or programs must have a significant potential for long-term greenhouse gas savings.