QUEZON CITY, Philippines – The Climate Change Commission (CCC) and Department of Budget and Management (DBM) conducted an orientation for state universities and colleges (SUCs) on climate change expenditure tagging (CCET), and called for increased climate budget proposals of SUCs for FY 2024.

The CCC and DBM, in their joint effort to track and monitor climate change-related budget and expenditure, conducted an orientation session for SUCs on tagging programs, projects and activities allocated for climate change actions, in preparation for the FY 2024 budget call.

Specific to the mandate of SUCs, the CCC and DBM view that their programs, projects and activities are important to be reflected in the CCET, as these government investments are crucial in developing science and evidences to support climate policies and actions.

“We call on SUCs to increase and prioritize their budgets for climate research and development to produce the best available science and technologies locally,” said CCC Commissioner Albert P. Dela Cruz Sr.

More than 450 participants from 106 SUCs attended the CCC-DBM-led orientation on CCET. Through this series of orientation sessions, the CCC hopes that SUCs will be able to secure an increased budget for climate-related activities.

“SUCs are among our key partners in addressing climate change. They provide us site-specific climate information that enable local government units to determine fit-for-purpose programs and activities to address climate change and its impacts,” said CCC Vice Chair and Executive Director Robert E.A. Borje.

Earlier this year, DBM issued National Budget Memorandum No. 145, commencing the SUCs’ budget preparation for fiscal year 2024, including the submission of budget proposals for climate change under CCET.

“While we are on track with our agenda for prosperity, our efforts will be futile if you are unable to address climate change as it continues to pose significant risks to our economic development. Thankfully, we have interventions such as the CCET that allow us to monitor the scope and distribution of climate action in the country,” said DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman.

The CCET tracks and monitors climate-tagged budgets in annual appropriations. For FY 2023, total appropriations for climate change accounts for PHP 464.49 billion, 60.32 percent higher than FY 2022.

The event was organized by the CCC and DBM, together with the Commission on Higher Education(CHED), the Governance Commission for GOCCs, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), to raise the national government instrumentalities’ (NGIs) capacity to tag, identify, and advance public resources for climate action. These NGIs include GOCCs, NGAs, and SUCs.

For more information about the CCET, visit https://climate.gov.ph/ and https://niccdies.climate.gov.ph/climate-finance/ccet.