​President Marcos is travelling to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday, Nov. 30, for the Conference of Parties or COP28, where he is set to engage with other world leaders on climate action and voice out the Philippines' sentiment on the world's current condition.
Marcos will leave Manila in the morning and arrive in Dubai in the afternoon, local time, where he is also expected to meet with the Filipino community there.
Maria Teresa Almojuela, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Assistant Secretary for the Office of the UN and other international organizations, said the President's "engagements will reflect the priority that the Philippines attaches" to the thematic agenda of the conference.
During the conduct of COPs, world leaders whose countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) gather to assess progress in dealing with climate change and in establishing legally-binding obligations for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, among others.
"The following two days [of the President in Dubai] will be mainly his engagements related to COP28... He will address the world climate action summit together with other leaders," Almojuela said.
"There will be a COP28 presidency opening of the world climate action summit... There will also be a plenary in the afternoon—two simultaneous plenaries, and the President will be delivering the national statement in this plenary session," she added.
Almojuela said Marcos will participate in a leader's session on transforming climate finance.
The President will also be the keynote speaker in an event co-organized by the Philippines and Kenya. During the event, Marcos will highlight the country's actions in leading and pushing for a stronger global consensus on the nexus between climate change and migration.
"So, the biggest events will of course be the summit, the world climate action summit, and the engagements at the leaders' level," she said.
"But after the leaders have left, the negotiators will continue on to hammer out outcomes, including I think what we're waiting for, is an outcome with respect to the Loss and Damage Fund," she added.
The Loss and Damage Fund aims to provide financial assistance to countries that are most vulnerable to and impacted by the climate crisis.
At the sidelines of the summit, Marcos will also sit down with fellow leaders for bilateral talks.
Almojuela said the President is expected to meet with at least a dozen or more leaders, but that will still be subject for consultations.