Southeast Asia civil society spurs regional cooperation on Climate and Disaster Risk Financing
Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities PRESS RELEASE BANGKOK, THAILAND, 22 May 2026 — As climate and disaster risks continue to intensify across Southeast Asia, regional stakeholders explore a more coordinated approach to Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance (CDRFI), following the conclusion of the Multi-Actor Partnership on Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance (MAP-CDRFI) Southeast Asia Workshop convened by the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) on May 20-21, 2026. “Climate and disaster risks in Southeast Asia are becoming more frequent, more complex, and more costly, with vulnerable communities bearing the heaviest impacts,” stressed ICSC [...]
Philippine government convenes national dialogue to strengthen financial protection against climate risks and impacts
PASIG CITY, 28 August 2025— The Philippine government is taking steps to strengthen the financial protection of Filipino communities from climate- and disaster-related risks through climate and disaster risk finance and insurance (CDRFI). On August 13, the Department of Finance (DOF) convened a national dialogue to inform CDRFI priorities, including those that can be supported by the Global Shield against Climate Risks. A joint initiative of the Vulnerable Twenty (V20) Group of Finance Ministers and the G7 (Group of Seven), the Global Shield against Climate Risks aims to strengthen the financial protection and resilience of climate-vulnerable countries and communities. [...]
ICSC leads regional workshop to strengthen CDRFI in SEA
As part of its efforts to broaden understanding CDRFI in Southeast Asia, the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) facilitated a regional workshop with the Multi-Actor Partnership on Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance (MAP-CDRFI) on 29 May, 2025 at the Makati Diamond Residences, Philippines. “Anchoring our strategies in community‐driven evidence and bottom-up insights ensures they enhance, rather than replace, national policies and international support, so every stakeholder’s perspective shapes the design and delivery of financial protection systems,” stressed ICSC Executive Director Angelo Kairos Dela Cruz in his keynote speech. Aiming to review the process of CDRFI [...]
Information session takes stock of CSO’s role in climate and disaster risk financing
MAKATI CITY, Philippines— Representatives from civil society organizations (CSOs), non-government organizations (NGOs), and government agencies convened in an information session on the Global Shield against Climate Risks to highlight the critical role of CSOs in climate and disaster financing in the Philippines on April 14, 2025. The session was organized by the Global Shield Secretariat, Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), and Start Network, co-organized and with the support from Philippine Department of Finance (DOF). The session provided a deep dive on the Global Shield against Climate Risks, a joint initiative of the Vulnerable 20 Group of Finance [...]
A decade after Haiyan: What’s next for ICSC in Eastern Visayas?
by Niña Nicole Cerilla EDITOR’S NOTE: Nini is a climate policy analyst of ICSC. Tacloban City holds a core memory for Filipinos who lived through 2013: that year, the most catastrophic typhoon in Philippine history, Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda), struck many communities in the Philippines, hitting first the Eastern Visayas region. At 14 years old and living 400 miles away from Tacloban, I still remember seeing the thousands of victims cry for help as I watched the news behind the TV screen. Haiyan’s destructive waves and winds disrupted more than 16 million lives in Eastern, Western, and [...]