The European Commission vowed to support the transition of the Philippines to a green economy.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced on Monday, July 31, that the European Commission will provide a grant to finance the efforts of the Philippine government, through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), to strengthen its green initiatives.
The Chief Executive made the announcement following his bilateral meeting with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
“On the development cooperation, we committed to conclude an agreement for the Green Economy Program in the Philippines (GEPP), a grant worth 60 million euros," President Marcos said in a speech.
President Marcos said that the grant 'aims to support the Philippines in areas such as circular economy, renewable energy, and climate change mitigation'.
Aside from financing the transition of the Philippines to a green economy, Von Der Leyen said that the European Commission will also provide expertise and access to technologies.
The European leader particularly mentioned that the bloc will set up a data mirror site of the Copernicus Programme within the Philippine Space Agency.
"The European Union is also supporting your fight against climate change and extreme weather events with its so-called 'eyes in the sky'. This is the Copernicus satellite," Von Der Leyen said.
"We have just signed an agreement to boost the flow on Earth observation data between us. This is very important for early warning, for example, for extreme weather phenomenon and to improve the climate resilience. This is a first in space cooperation in Asia," she added.
President Marcos described his meeting with Von der Leyen as 'successful and productive'.
The meeting also touched on negotiations for a Free Trade agreement between the Philippines and the European Union, as well as the support of the organization to the Bangsamoro Peace Process.
"As I mentioned to Madame President von der Leyen, the Philippines and the EU are like-minded partners through our shared values of democracy, sustainable and inclusive prosperity, the rule of law, peace and stability, and human rights," President Marcos said.
"The continued exchanges between Her Excellency and myself, which started in Brussels last year, is a testament to our joint desire to bring our bilateral relationship to greater heights," he added.
