Turning climate vulnerability into leadership

While delegates from around the world gathered for COP30, a super typhoon just made landfall in the Philippines. Super Typhoon Uwan displaced more than a million people and was the second storm in a week, following Typhoon Tino which brought severe flooding and tragic losses in the Visayas. These tragic events highlight the crucial role of COP30 as a turning point for global climate action.

Extreme weather events are no longer distant threats but are persistent challenges to a country’s ability to protect lives and livelihoods. They disrupt economies, reverse development gains and force millions into making difficult choices to secure their immediate survival and long-term recovery. Even more crucial now are the continued strengthening and implementation of disaster risk management systems for communities living on the frontlines of climate shocks.

A shift from vulnerability to leadership

For the third consecutive year, the Philippines ranked as the most disaster-prone country in the world. Despite these challenges, the Philippines is positioned to show that climate action can be ambitious, nationally owned and locally driven – shifting from vulnerability to leadership.

This shift is anchored in a risk layering approach, which combines different types of solutions that correspond to the frequency and severity of risks. No single intervention can address the diverse hazards in the country. Effective climate action combines all these measures together. This includes early warning systems that trigger anticipatory action, social protection that expands during crises, scalable disaster risk financing for predictable and rapid release of financial resources and preparedness and response systems that reach last-mile communities.

Risk layering also means tackling the root causes of vulnerability through actions that not only reduce risks but also build resilience and create sustainable livelihoods. Strong government leadership, coupled with international expertise and know-how from partners like the World Food Program (WFP), other development partners and private sector engagement are crucial in setting this direction. When these layers connect, they enable long-term resilience.

Progress already taking shape

Momentum is visible nationwide. The recently approved State of Imminent Disaster Act (RA 12287) will enable PAGASA’s impact-based forecasting to trigger early release of financing for effective early action. Ahead of Super Typhoon Uwan, WFP worked with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to activate anticipatory action through the existing Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps. Under this activation, 42,000 vulnerable families received emergency cash assistance ahead of the typhoon’s arrival which they used to buy food, medicine and materials to reinforce their homes and boats. Having cash ahead of an emergency also increased their confidence to evacuate early, ensuring that their families are out of harm’s way. The ability to arrive at an evacuation center with food helped some of the poorest community members put government warnings into action. Without this additional cash support, many more lives could have been lost.

The government is also investing in locally led resilience. Project LAWA at BINHI – conceptualized and designed jointly by the DSWD and WFP – expands nature-based solutions that help over 1.1 million households cope with droughts and floods while restoring the local ecosystem through community-managed water systems and climate-smart livelihoods.

In the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), resilience and peace reinforce each other. Communities are placing women, youth and Indigenous Peoples at the center of solutions. WFP is supporting the BARMM government and its local communities in restoring watersheds, strengthening food systems and linking smallholder farmers to markets though school-based feeding programs.

Global lessons also matter

Lessons from beyond the Philippines offer powerful insights. After Hurricane Melissa devastated Jamaica, the country’s investments and strategies in disaster risk management provide an example of how countries can strengthen their financial resilience to climatic shocks. Triggered payouts from pre-arranged disaster risk financing instruments, including $150 million from a catastrophe bond and another $91.9 million from parametric insurance policies. These mechanisms enable predictable and rapid liquidity and reduce the country’s reliance on post-event borrowing.

The Philippines can further adapt these lessons: timely, upfront climate and disaster risk finance instruments are essential. Integrated into a risk layering strategy, they strengthen readiness rather than reaction. WFP stands ready to support the Philippine government in its ongoing transitioning towards systems that anticipate, absorb and adapt to shocks.

COP 30 reminds us that climate action must be global yet grounded. The Philippines shows progress is possible even in highly exposed contexts. The next decade demands collective determination to expand these gains and protect the most vulnerable. With strong national leadership and committed partners, the Philippines can serve as a model for anticipating, responding and building resilience in an era of growing climate uncertainty.

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Regis Chapman is World Food Program Philippines Representative and Country Director.