The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) marked its debut participation at a side event of the Conference of the Parties (COP 28) to the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change, a prestigious event recognized for shaping international climate policy held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates last December 4, 2023.
The side event, entitled “Reducing the Climate Finance Gap with Gender responsive Nature-based Solutions (NBS),” was spearheaded by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Philippines, in collaboration with the Department of Finance (DoF) and the Government of Canada.
The side event sought to address the urgent need for innovative financial policy initiatives with a focus on gender-responsive NBS. Department of Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno emphasized the need for substantial green and climate finance to meet Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) targets, with a focus on gender-responsive approaches.
Director Rachel Esther J. Gumtang-Remalante of the SEC Corporate Governance and Finance Department underscored the Commission’s crucial role in driving sustainability reporting since 2019. She highlighted the recent public exposure of the Sustainability Reporting (SuRe) Form, aiming to standardize reporting, striving for uniformity, consistency, and comparability of data.
Director Remalante also emphasized the importance of data availability and expressed the intent of the SEC to include gender and climate finance investment details in the reporting framework.
Included in the panel discussion were: Undersecretary Analiza Rebuelta-Teh from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources; Director Tiza Mafira of CPI Indonesia; Leah Pedersen, Senior Director of Market Acceleration and Design Innovation of Convergence; and Floradema Eleazar, UNDP’s Climate Action Programme Team Leader, who moderated the discussion.
The COP 28 side event served as an opportunity to enhance sustainability reporting and awareness in the Philippines, with the SEC actively contributing to this crucial initiative. This involvement reflects a strategic move towards achieving comprehensive and standardized reporting, promoting transparency, and advancing sustainable practices in the country.