MANILA - The government is allocating P453.1 billion to address climate change, the Department of Budget and Management said Wednesday.

The allocation, which was included in the 2023 National Expenditure Program (NEP) submitted to Congress, is higher than the P289.7 billion in 2022, DBM Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said.

“Climate change, as they say, is already here with us to stay. The Philippines in fact is the third most vulnerable country to the impact of climate change, according to the 2017 World Risk Report,” Pangandaman said.

“We must therefore act decisively to avert the adverse effects of climate change," she added.

Government programs for climate change include avoidance of deforestation, monitoring of national and local climate change mitigation actions, conservation and protection of existing watershed and protected areas, support to research on climate change adaption, trainings and disaster risk reduction, among others, the DBM said.

Pangandaman said the 8 priorities of the budget for climate change are food security, water security, ecosystem and environmental stability, human security, climate smart industries and services, sustainable energy, knowledge and capacity development, and cross-cutting.

The DBM said President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr has committed to increase funds for climate change programs by an average of 15 percent annually.

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