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MANILA, Philippines | 17 July 2025—Philippine Senator Loren Legarda vowed to advance legislative measures in support of the country’s Climate Prosperity Investment Memorandum. The move is meant to establish the policy and regulatory framework needed to crowd-in climate-smart investments and sustainable economic growth.
“The CVF’s vision, articulated in the development of Climate Prosperity Plans, speaks to a deeper truth: true progress transcends narrow economic metrics. It’s about preserving our cultural heritage, fostering resilient communities, and ensuring that the wisdom of our past guides us towards a more prosperous and sustainable future,” Senator Legarda said.
Legarda made the commitment during a special session of the Climate Vulnerable Forum and V20 Group of Finance Ministers (CVF-V20) Global Parliamentary Group (GPG) on July 14 at the National Museum of Fine Arts. The gathering brought together high-level representatives from the CVF-V20 leadership as well as Philippine lawmakers, policy leaders, the academe, businesses, and civil society organizations.
The CVF-V20 is working closely with member countries to develop respective Climate Prosperity Plans (CPPs), which are country-led, investment-driven plans that identify catalytic projects and clear financing pathways, ensuring that investments translate into tangible benefits for communities most exposed to climate risks. More than just a fully costed roadmap for low-carbon and climate-resilient development, CPPs are multi-phase national investments and technology access strategies that focus on the convergence of development, climate, and nature.
Ambassador Elizabeth Thompson, representing the Barbados Presidency of CVF-V20, highlighted during the meeting that CPPs have already unlocked approximately US $2 billion in investments across CVF-V20 countries where they are in place.
“These plans work—particularly in strengthening sustainable agriculture and food security, expanding renewable energy for a just transition, and building resilience that drives sustainability and economic growth,” Thompson emphasized. Thompson, designated to lead the CVF-V20 by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, is also the Barbados Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary on Climate Change, Small Island States (SIDS) & Law of the Sea, Barbados.
In the Philippines, the Department of Finance (DOF) is leading the ongoing development of the Philippine CPP in the form of an investment memorandum that will serve as a blueprint for local governments to generate and deploy investments in renewable energy, resilient infrastructure, and green jobs.
Building local resilience, unlocking climate finance
“Climate action has to be local,” said Senator Legarda, highlighting the critical role of local governments in the fight against climate change. She urged fellow members of the Philippine Congress to “make the full implementation of our Climate Prosperity Plan our most enduring legacy.”
Senator Legarda’s forthcoming resolution or bill will lay the legislative foundation for local governments to systematically incorporate crucial elements of the CPP, such as climate risks, health outcomes, and the valuation of natural capital, into their local development and investment planning.
Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano echoed this, emphasizing the need for evidence-based governance: “No nation has ever been saved by instinct alone. No impulsive action has ever resolved the root of a crisis. We need science and data to underpin our policies—this is how we make sure our interventions truly advance sustainability goals, instead of undermining them.”
The ongoing development of the Philippine Climate Prosperity Investment Memorandum is backed by a special macroeconomic model of the CVF-V20 Secretariat. “It is a “what-if” decision-support tool that helps governments explore how different development and climate scenarios impact key outcomes like GDP, jobs, emissions, poverty, and energy use,” according to Sara Jane Ahmed, Managing Director and V20 Finance Advisor of the CVF-V20 Secretariat.
Representative Anna Veloso-Tuazon (Third District, Leyte), expressed support for the CVF’s climate prosperity agenda.
“I support the mission that brings the CVF-V20 to the Philippines. Resilient infrastructure, supply chains, and services is the bottom line. But we must also reach for the sky—modern local economies powered by investments and the ambition of prosperity,” said Representative Veloso-Tuazon.
PH as a regional hub for the CVF
Beyond legislative action, Senator Legarda also signaled her support for positioning the Philippines as a regional hub for the CVF-V20.
“There are possibilities also of hosting perhaps the CVF in the Philippines, just like we’re hosting the Loss and Damage Fund. I know it’s a long way to go,” Legarda stated.
With the proposed legislative support on Climate Prosperity Investment Memorandum and the potential for hosting a CVF regional office, the Philippines is poised to champion a development path that transforms vulnerability into opportunity, ensuring a future of prosperity and resilience for generations to come.
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The CVF-V20 represents 74 member-countries from small island developing states (SIDS), least developed countries (LDCs), low-to-middle income countries (LMICs), landlocked developing countries (LLDCs), and fragile and conflict-affected states (FCS). Working together, the CVF-V20 aims to achieve climate justice through the realization of Climate Prosperity Plans, which contain ambitious economic and financial resilience strategies designed to attract investment and resources that advance the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 30×30 Global Biodiversity, and help keep the average global temperatures to the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C safety threshold.
For media enquiries, please contact media@cvfv20.org.
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