While world leaders rode on their private planes to Brazil to attend COP30, there is a 16-year-old in the town of Pandan in Catanduanes, Philippines, frantically texting her teacher that she could not attend class the next week. This, after their house got flattened by Super Typhoon Uwan’s (Fung-Wong) 185-kph winds that blew through the island last November 10. Her family lives along the coast of the island and had to evacuate in the middle of the typhoon in fear of storm surge. They came back to their house when the winds started to dwindle, but Uwan wasn’t done yet. As the last gales of the typhoon whipped, their roof flew away and they were left with no choice but to wait out the storm without cover. When it was finally over, their house was no more.
For the people of Catanduanes, stories like these are normal. Extreme weather is deeply intertwined in our lives, and we have grown accustomed to the neverending cycle of destruction and rebuilding; of preparing for the worst and accepting the reality that typhoons will come, no matter how much we pray that they don’t. In 2020, there was Rolly (Goni), in 2024 Pepito (Man-yi), this year, Uwan. In the next years, more typhoons with names to be remembered in fear.
When the Loss and Damage Fund was operationalized during last year’s COP29, and the Philippines named chair of the board months later, it felt like hope. Finally, we have funding for the climate vulnerable communities who face the worst extreme weather events. But the development is slow. World leaders are still arguing over who should pay for what and oil executives are still denying liability while a growing population is scrambling to survive this fossil fuel-caused climate chaos.
For Filipinos, the issue of climate funding is especially relevant now. This year’s rainy and typhoon seasons uncovered billions of dollars worth of corruption. Controversial flood control projects that were never finished or done with poor quality despite an over budget have been the cause of anger and sparked a series of protests across the country. Just a week before Uwan entered the Philippines, the provinces of Cebu and Negros were badly hit by Typhoon Tino (Kalmaegi) and hundreds have died due to severe flooding. Locals are blaming faulty flood control infrastructure and lack of leadership.
