The Marcos Jr. administration has allocated an unprecedented P1 trillion for climate change adaptation and mitigation measures in the 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP), nearly double the P543.45 billion budgeted for the same purpose last year.
This significant increase signals the government’s commitment to tackling the escalating challenges posed by climate change, which has increasingly threatened the country in recent years.
The results of the Climate Change Expenditure Tagging show that of the total amount intended for this year, P889.7 billion is allocated for adaptation programs and projects vis-a-vis the P130 billion for mitigation programs and projects.
The directive for Climate Change Expenditure Tagging is based on a joint memorandum circular of the DBM and the Climate Change Commission which aims to track, monitor and report programs that help address and alleviate problems posed by climate change.
Sought for comment on the significant increase in climate change allocation, the DBM said the the climate change expenditures under the 2025 NEP reached 16.1 percent share of the total proposed national budget, surpassing the the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028 target of nine percent.

“The increase in the climate change expenditures under the 2025 NEP is a manifestation of the resolve of the Administration to achieve the desired climate outcomes of the National Government as contained in the PDP 2023-2028,” DBM Principal Economist Joselito Basilio told Malaya Business Insight on January 23.
“In addition, the significantly higher climate change expenditures in the 2025 NEP is also a result of a more active participation of national government agencies (NGAs) in the climate change expenditure tagging process,” he added.
Basilio said that for instance, in the 2025 budget preparation process, 284 NGAs were able to determine and submit to the Climate Change Commission the climate change expenditures in their budget proposals, as compared to only 260 in the previous budget preparation process.
“The national government continues to prioritize the adaptation measure due to the vulnerability of the country to the impacts of climate change,” Basilio said.
John Paolo Rivera, Philippine Institute for Development Studies Senior Research Fellow, said that while the doubling of the climate budget is a significant and commendable step forward for the Philippines, there is always room for improvement.
“Doubling the allocation to P1 trillion underscores the Philippine government’s recognition of the urgent need to address climate change. It is particularly significant for a country that ranks among the most climate-vulnerable nations globally,” Rivera told Malaya Business Insight last January 22.
“This move demonstrates a stronger commitment to adaptation and mitigation efforts. The substantial increase allows for larger-scale initiatives such as funding renewable energy projects to decarbonize the economy; strengthening disaster risk management and early warning systems, supporting agriculture and fisheries to adapt to changing climate patterns,” he added.
Rivera said the significant increase shows a serious commitment to addressing climate challenges and sets an example for other climate-vulnerable countries.
“However, maximizing the impact of this allocation requires ensuring effective implementation, tapping into international climate finance and fostering partnerships with the private sector,” Rivera said.
“Globally, while the Philippine’s commitment is strong, there is still room to improve its capacity to deliver results and integrate its efforts into the global climate agenda,” he added.
According to the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Country Climate Investment Plan attached in the agency’s Country Partnership Strategy (CPS): Philippines, 2024–2029 published in August 2024, the Philippines has made ambitious commitments on adaptation and mitigation, underpinned by a comprehensive policy framework to promote climate action.
The government submitted its first nationally determined contribution (NDC), under the Paris Agreement, in 2021 with a target of reducing GHG emissions by 75 percent below a cumulative business as usual pathway for 2020–2030.
The bank, however, said that despite strong policy direction and support for successive administrations, implementation continues to face several challenges.
“There is a lack of coherence across the governance structure for climate action in the Philippines, both in terms of coordination of climate action and implementation at the sector. Awareness and prioritization of climate action varies across sectors, and at the local government level,” the ADB said.
“A stocktake of progress made under the National Climate Change Action Plan 2011–2028 and an assessment of climate governance showed that climate actions have not yet been adequately resourced, systematically rolled out, and aligned across sectors and between national and local governments. A similar picture can be seen for other environmental challenges, including air quality where the legislation is in place but challenges with implementation and enforcement remain,” it added.
Under the CPS 2024–2029, ADB said it will aim to intensify climate action in the Philippines, and to mobilize $10 billion in climate finance to support the implementation of the NDC and National Adaptation Plan.
“ADB will address climate action at upstream (policy), midstream (institutions and planning) and downstream (projects and investment) levels, and will leverage strong relationships with implementing agencies to drive climate action in key sectors,” the bank said.
“Climate support will maximize opportunities to promote co-benefits for broader environmental sustainability (e.g. biodiversity and ecosystem management, pollution control and resource efficiency),” it added.
The multilateral agency said key policy reforms will be supported to enable strategic investments to strengthen the country’s climate and disaster resilience, ensuring just transition and gender inclusion.
Meanwhile, concessional climate finance will be mobilized to enable transformative investments, particularly for climate adaptation and biodiversity protection.