THE government is implementing new “climate-smart” strategies to strengthen the country’s resilience to impacts of climate change, Malacañang said Tuesday. Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered concerned agencies to implement resiliency measures, especially amid the spate of tropical cyclones battering the Philippines. “As the president often says, climate change is not a challenge one country can solve alone; it requires a united global response,” Castro said during a press conference. “So... the president has ordered that we have new strategies right here in our country to address the issue of climate change,” she added. Castro cited the Department of Science and Technology’s Automated Furrow Irrigation System, which conserves water and improves crop yields through precise irrigation, and the Smart Farming Initiative that uses soil and moisture sensors to boost agricultural productivity. She said that the government was also developing a National Adaptation Plan for a “climate-smart and climate-resilient Philippines.” The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration also continued to invest in early warning systems and disaster preparedness technologies, Castro said. “So, these are just a few of what they are doing. This is not all; the government is doing more projects so that we can cope with the issue of climate change,” she added. In May, Marcos urged developed nations and partners of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to bolster climate finance to make it accessible and sufficient for developing and poor nations that were most vulnerable to extreme weather conditions due to climate change. The president pointed out that nearly half of Southeast Asia’s population faces significant climate-related risks as one of the most climate-vulnerable regions in the world. “As the host of the Board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, the Philippines will continue to advocate for scientific and evidence-based, investment-led, and transformative solutions to the climate crisis,” Marcos said during the 46th Asean meeting in Malaysia. In July 2024, the Philippines was chosen as host of the Loss and Damage Fund Board, which is in charge of administering the multimillion-dollar climate. In December 2023, during the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai, the world’s richest and developed nations initially pledged around $700 million for the Loss and Damage Fund. In April this year, the board decided to spend $250 million until the end of 2026 on initial interventions to help developing countries deal with the aftermath of disasters stemming from climate change. The startup phase will include grants of between $5 million and $20 million to small-island developing states and least developed countries with approved climate-change mitigation proposals.