At the PHILIPPiNEXT 2025 International Conference and Exposition on Innovations, one theme stood out: climate solutions will make an impact if they are protected, funded, and scaled through collaboration. In the technical conference session, global experts from the fields of intellectual property, data governance, public-private partnerships, green financing, and climate communication shared how IP protection, innovative financing models, and cross-sector partnerships can turn ideas into tangible solutions for the planet.
Organized by the Department of Science and Technology's Technology Application and Promotion Institute (DOST-TAPI), the conference was part of a broader mission to advance climate-ready technologies and build an innovation ecosystem that thrives across various sectors.
IP: The Silent Engine Behind Green Breakthroughs
Engr. Chamlette Garcia, Director III, Documentation, Information, and Technology Transfer Bureau (DITTB) of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines, emphasized that patents are more than legal documents; they are catalysts for climate action.
"Without IP protection, it's difficult to find investors for a technology. With protection, you spur technology transfer, encourage investment, and build trust in green innovations," Garcia emphasized.
He explained that patents don't just lock in rights for up to 20 years; they also form the world's most comprehensive repository of technological knowledge. This information can be leveraged by developing countries to enhance solutions and tailor them to local needs.
Citing BYD, a global leader in electric vehicles and renewable energy solutions, Garcia discussed how the company's 29,201 global patents, 1,588 trademarks, and 964 registered industrial designs have solidified its brand, market trust, and innovation leadership.
Data: The Glue Linking Climate Science and Policy
For John Charles Altomonte, Founder of Verne Solutions, climate data is both a lifeline and a labyrinth. "Climate touches everything — health, education, agriculture, business. If we don't govern climate data inclusively and adaptively, we risk marginalizing the very communities we aim to protect," Altomonte noted.
To bring in a global perspective on effective climate communication, Ms. Maylis Charlat, Project Leader of the EU-PH Green Economy Partnership at Expertise France, highlighted the need to rethink how we communicate climate action; "Traditional climate communications have focused too much on data and risks. But logic and reason are not the key drivers of human behavior. Effective climate communication must reflect people's values, identities, and concerns, while showing them how their peers are already acting," Charlat emphasized.
For Charlat, the challenge now lies in moving from data into action, ensuring that information not only supports policymaking but also sparks innovation, empowers communities, and commercializes sustainable solutions.
From Policy to Action: Building Climate-Ready Systems
Mr. Edwin Carrie, Deputy Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), warned that the Philippines remains among the top 10 countries most at risk from climate disasters, facing up to 20 typhoons yearly and a projected 7.6% GDP reduction by 2030 due to climate impacts.
For Carrie, climate action begins with robust data governance. "Investing in better data systems is a prerequisite for smart, inclusive, and scalable climate action. We must understand climate data, analyze it, and create solutions tailored to local realities," Carrie said.
He called for transparent, interoperable, privacy-conscious, and equitable climate data systems, and urged stronger government-industry collaboration to finance and scale climate innovations.
Meanwhile, Dr. Mercedita A. Sombilla, Director of SEARCA, emphasized that universities play a critical role in bridging policy with actionable climate solutions. "Universities are not merely reacting to climate crises; they are actively engaged in developing scalable and relevant solutions to combat climate change," she noted. For Dr. Sombilla, collaboration between the academe and industry must be strengthened to accelerate technology transfer and market adoption.
Adding another critical dimension, Mr. Gaspar G. Escobar, Jr., Grid Modernization Advisor at the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, pointed to public-private partnerships (PPPs) as drivers of climate innovation, with governments seeding climate startups and private firms scaling solutions and nature-based technologies.
Mr. Achilles Voltaire Estrada of the Global Green Growth Institute also emphasized the potential of blended finance, such as mixing concessional loans, grants, guarantees, and equity co-investments to unlock investments in climate startups. He also emphasized the critical role of incubators and accelerators in bridging research with commercialization.
DOST-TAPI: Enabling Innovation Across All Frontiers
While climate solutions took center stage, DOST-TAPI's role extends to every sector where homegrown solutions can thrive. Through its programs and services such as IP filing assistance, pre-commercialization and commercialization grants, technology loans, promotion and marketing initiatives, DOST-TAPI ensures that locally-developed technologies are protected, scaled, and fully-commercialized.
To strengthen this mandate, DOST-TAPI established the Strategic Advisory for Growth and Excellence (SAGE) Council, which provides strategic guidance to ensure its programs align with national development goals. The Institute also continues to expand partnerships with international bodies focused on innovation-driven initiatives. By fostering collaboration among academe, industry, government, and other stakeholders, DOST-TAPI accelerates technology transfer, drives commercialization, and builds public-private partnerships that bring Filipino innovations to wider markets.
PHILIPPiNEXT 2025 leaves us with a challenge: if we want climate solutions to truly take root, we must protect them, invest in them, and build bridges across sectors so they can scale for real impact. Innovation thrives not in isolation, but in collaboration where governments, industries, academe, and communities move together toward a low-carbon, climate-resilient future.