High-Level Leaders’ Roundtable: Natural Disasters & Climate Change: Managing Risks and Crises Differently
24 May 2016 (9:00 am to 11:00 am) Beyazit Hall, B-2 Floor, ICC, Istanbul, Turkey
Hon. Inia Seruiratu, Minister for Agriculture, Rural and Maritime Development and National Disaster Management, Fiji
Fiji is giving enthusiastic support to the Vulnerable 20’s Global Preparedness Partnership, given our recent experience dealing with a severe natural disaster in the form of Tropical Cyclone Winston.
We had been satisfied with our own preparedness and response to the previous event – Cyclone Evan at the end of 2012 – in which no Fijian lives were lost despite the widespread destruction it caused to homes and infrastructure. But we are the first to acknowledge that Cyclone Winston three months ago stretched our resources to breaking point. And while the effectiveness of Fiji’s overall response has been praised by our development partners, we realise that we need to do a lot better next time. And we need the support of the global community through this initiative to do so.
Winston’s crushing strength – a Category 5 event with winds of more than 300 kilometres an hour – made it the most powerful cyclone ever to make landfall in the southern hemisphere. Despite our best efforts, 44 Fijians were killed, 40,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, along with public buildings and infrastructure. And it has left us with a damage bill of 1.4 billion US dollars that will take many years to repair.
We were extremely fortunate to have our own relief effort reinforced so quickly and effectively by our friends in the region and the rest of the world. And especially the hundreds of military personnel from Australia, New Zealand, France and Tonga – backed up by warships and aircraft – who were able to assist Fijian relief workers cope with the vast challenge Winston presented.
We are extremely grateful to these nations and others – notably India, China, Korea and the UAE – that undertook airlifts of relief supplies or gave donations in cash or in kind. But the scale of this disaster has been a sobering lesson to us all of the inadequacy of our current preparedness and the acute need to upgrade our response to future events.
Fiji is now going to the world appealing for access to the finance we need to rebuild our homes and infrastructure to a much higher standard to withstand such events. And we are revaluating our disaster preparedness for a new era in which the scientists tell us that we can expect stronger and more frequent cyclones because of climate change.
Fiji urges the community of nations to embrace the V20’s Global Preparedness Partnership to provide the funding we need to prepare for future disasters. The world must set aside enough resources to deal with the new frightening new era that is dawning on small and vulnerable nations because of extreme weather events and rising sea levels. And I am here to testify that if any example is required of the urgent need to implement this initiative, Fiji’s experience with Winston is it.
High-Level Leaders’ Roundtable: Natural Disasters & Climate Change: Managing Risks and Crises Differently
24 May 2016 (9:00 am to 11:00 am) Beyazit Hall, B-2 Floor, ICC, Istanbul, Turkey
Hon. Roberto B. Tan, Treasurer of the Philippines, Department of Finance, Republic of the Philippines
Part 1: Country Statement
Mr. President, Excellencies, Honourable Colleagues and Partners, Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning!
This year, the rise in the global temperature marks the hottest ever recorded, prompting scientists to declare a climate emergency.
This climate phenomenon exposes humanity, particularly the most vulnerable, to increasing risks caused by weather-related extreme events and sea level rise.
To face the new normal, we acknowledge the need to further act to protect our people and our future.
Under Core Commitment 2, the Philippines is keen on working towards enhancing financial and social protection and further implementing our disaster risk financing and insurance strategy at various levels.
Using our budget, we will further prioritize investments on resiliency and adaptation, including building more resilient structures and using our natural systems. We will also improve the strategic use of our national and local funds on preparedness and prevention.
In sync with our public finance reforms, we will develop or strengthen policies to achieve better planning, including on procurement, and update our DRRM law.
We will continue to improve efforts in DRR such as the Pre-Disaster Risk Assessment (PDRA).
We will build on our experience in tracking our expenditures on climate action. Upholding good governance, the Philippines will continue to improve the accounting of disaster aid and enhance our coordination mechanisms to request and accept international assistance [through the guidelines for the Philippine International Humanitarian Assistance Center (PIHAC)].
Under Core Commitment 5, the Philippines will continue to participate in global platforms to develop common humanitarian civil-military coordination standards by taking a lead role in the UN Civil Military Cooperation.
The Philippines will uphold its commitment as a signatory to the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) in coordinating humanitarian assistance in the region.
We will remain committed to support and actively engage in the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction.
Part 2: Joint V20–CVF Statement at the World Humanitarian Summit
Mr. President, the Philippines chairs the Vulnerable Twenty Group of Finance Ministers (the V20) and its associated initiative, the Climate Vulnerable Forum, representing 1 billion people highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
We are highlighting at this Summit that dealing with climate change is now indispensable to dealing with humanitarian crises.
The landmark Paris Agreement and its goal of pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius must be fully implemented if we are to have hope of containing such escalating risks and their humanitarian repercussions.
Even limiting warming to 1.5 degrees, however, would still lead to approximately a doubling of effects. This is why climate finance flows to help communities adapt is as critical as funds for emission controls.
Achieving this balance by 2020 is not only a major humanitarian priority that will save lives. It also makes financial sense.
Consider that 56 billion dollars have been spent on humanitarian response by international donors in the 43 V20 countries between 1991 and 2010. This equates to 31.7% of total international humanitarian financing, which was $176.8 billion. However, in this same period only $13.5 billion was spent by the international community worldwide on Disaster Risk Reduction and preparedness. Where is the logic?
We are convinced that investing in preparedness is a no regret, cost effective investment for everyone. That is why the V20 is spearheading the launch of a major new initiative: the Global Preparedness Partnership. With the support of the international community, we can put a different, anticipatory and more cost-efficient formula into action.
We urge you to join forces in the Global Preparedness Partnership so that the most at-risk countries can achieve a minimum level of readiness to future shocks.
Part 3: Closing
Mr. President, we have put forward today what the Philippines is willing to invest in for the future of humanity. Our group of 43 countries resonates the call to action and will count on partners to work with us on tangible investments such as on preparedness.
Thank you, Mr. President.
