Recent CVF-V20 meeting unveils the shared realities of the world’s most vulnerable to climate change

The meeting also underscored the shared realities of climate injustice among the world’s most vulnerable nations—those that have contributed least to global emissions yet bear the greatest brunt of climate impacts.

In the Philippines alone, 70 per cent of the population lives in areas at risk of climate-induced disasters. According to the World Bank, 565 natural disasters have cost the country US$23 billion and taken 70,000 lives since 1990. Senator Loren Legarda emphasised the urgent need to prioritise both physical and cultural resilience.

Read more: Loren Legarda takes friends and family to their ancestral farm to celebrate her birthday

“The projected cost of productivity loss from extreme heat alone could reach PHP466 billion annually by 2030,” Legarda warned. “Yet, even this staggering figure fails to capture the true potential loss of our invaluable cultural heritage. We must prioritise mitigating climate risks to our cultural sites, our time-honoured traditions and the wealth of knowledge passed down through generations”.

Ambassador Elizabeth Thompson, representing the Barbados CVF-V20 Presidency, echoed these sentiments, sharing the severe impacts of hurricanes and rising sea levels in her region.

“But you have your own stories in this country and in this region. These are not just the stories that make the news. These are the stories of the lives of our people, the destruction of their dreams, and the challenges that we face as parliamentarians and as a people. Your responsibility, therefore, is to give vision and voice to the solutions to the climate crisis,” she stated.

Beyond Livelihoods: Protecting Cultural Identity

During her address, Legarda urged climate-vulnerable countries to “overhaul outdated policies and champion a more integrated approach to climate action, policies that protect not just lives and livelihoods but also culture, identity, and history”.

“Climate change endangers all that you see and so much more: climate change imperils not only lives and livelihoods; it threatens to erase who we are,” she said.

“It is this understanding that demands we broaden our definition of risk to fully encompass the cultural well-being of our people,” she added.

The four-term senator also warned of the displacement of communities from ancestral homes and the erosion of social structures as irreversible consequences of climate inaction.

“Climate change has also forced communities to abandon their ancestral homes, threatens the erosion of cultural identity, and disrupts cherished social structures,” she noted.

“As legislators, we are more than mere policymakers; we are the stewards of our nation’s future,” Legarda asserted. “We must ensure that our laws reflect an unwavering commitment to both climate action and cultural preservation”

Climate Prosperity as Economic Strategy

At the centre of the CVF-V20’s strategy are national Climate Prosperity Plans (CPPs), which reframe climate action as a lever for economic growth through investments in renewable energy, nature-based solutions and risk management tools.

The Philippines’ own Climate Prosperity Investment Memorandum is currently being developed by the Department of Finance, with support from the CVF-V20 Secretariat. The memorandum envisions an economy-wide roadmap to transform risks into bankable opportunities.

With mechanisms like the People’s Survival Fund (PSF), which Legarda helped establish, the Philippines is aiming to translate national strategies into tangible, local impact.

“The Philippine Climate Prosperity Investment Memorandum... is envisioned as an economy-wide investment roadmap designed to transform risks into bankable opportunities—scaling up renewable energy, supporting green industries, protecting biodiversity and building resilience down to the local level,” the press release noted.

“You [legislators] are the most important actors in elevating the issue of climate across all sectors in the legislative agenda, from energy to health to food, transport and education,” said Hon. Mohamed Nasheed, Secretary-General of the CVF-V20 Secretariat and former President of the Republic of Maldives.

“Your leadership in marrying climate ambition with economic strategy through your Climate Prosperity Plan is inspiring our entire coalition.”

Legarda reminded fellow lawmakers that their mandate extends beyond legislation—it is a responsibility to preserve identity, empower communities, and lead with foresight.

“To my esteemed colleagues in the Philippine Congress, I issue a solemn call to action: Let us make the full implementation of our Climate Prosperity Plan our most enduring legacy,” she declared.

“Let our collective efforts safeguard our precious cultural treasures, empower our resilient communities, and build a sustainable future for all Filipinos.”

Echoing this, she addressed the global community: “Let the Philippine experience embolden our Global Parliamentary Group. Together, we can embed climate prosperity in every law, every budget, every community initiative we undertake—ensuring that cultural heritage and local knowledge remain at the heart of our climate agenda”.

The CVF-V20 represents a coalition of 74 member countries committed to realising climate justice and accelerating the implementation of their respective CPPs. These plans are designed to mobilise investment, enhance resilience, and help ensure that global temperatures remain within the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C threshold.

As the Manila meeting concluded, participants affirmed that legislative leadership will be critical in building a future where communities not only survive climate shocks—but thrive through them. And for the Philippines, the intersection of climate ambition and cultural preservation now defines the path forward. 

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