THE Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has been accredited to join the United Nations (UN) Green Climate Fund (GCF), making it among the banks that can provide financing for environment and climate change-related programs in developing countries.
DBP President and CEO Emmanuel G. Herbosa said in a statement Friday that the bank will be the second Philippine entity to join the international fund, created by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
“We envision GCF as an additional source of highly-concessional loans or even grants to expand the reach and to scale up DBP’s environmental and climate-related programs and advocacies,” Mr. Herbosa said.
He said the bank is currently in discussions with potential development partners to help it formulate and roll out green energy, energy efficiency, waste management, and disaster resilience projects.
The GCF, established in 2010, aims to extend financing and technical support to developing economies seeking to cut their carbon emissions and adopt climate-resilient programs. It also assists vulnerable nations in adapting to the severe impacts of climate change.
Participating banks can tap the fund to help channel the grants, concessional loans, guarantees or equity instruments for proposed projects.
The GCF now has 113 accredited entities, 57 of which are government agencies, which can provide support worth up to $250 million per project.
“We are honored to be in the select roster of international and national commercial banks; multilateral, regional and national development finance institutions; and civil society organizations, among others, that are working together for the implementation of climate change mitigation and adaptation projects on a global scale,” the DBP chief said.
The bank is the sixth-largest bank in the country in terms of assets and has been designated the lead bank for infrastructure.
Its net profit fell 30% to P3.9 billion in 2020 on increased loan loss provisionins and operating expenses.
The Philippines has committed to cut its total greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030. – Beatrice M. Laforga