THE Climate Change Commission (CCC) wants those running for office in the May elections, especially presidential aspirants, to include in their agenda steps to combat climate change and its far-reaching effects on food security, health, livelihood, and poverty.
Vice chairperson of the CCC, Secretary Emmanuel de Guzman, said on Saturday that environmental issues must be high on the to-do list of the next president, as candidates face off for the second round of presidential debates in Cebu on Sunday. The debate’s topics include climate change.
“Taking decisive action against climate change should be the top priority of the next president. The Philippines is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, and it will take good leadership to strengthen the country’s ability to adapt to its impacts,” Secretary de Guzman said.
“Our next set of leaders must recognize the serious concerns associated with climate change. Extreme weather events, such as droughts, El Niño, unusually strong typhoons and storms, have sociopolitical and national security implications. Even our daily existence and activities are affected.”
He emphasized that to effectively address climate change, the next president must harmonize efforts — from the national government down to the barangay level — to prepare communities across the country to cut down risks and put in place programs to make them resilient.
“Our very own survival depends on the actions our new leaders will take. We cannot be complacent,” de Guzman pointed out.
He noted that one step to address the impact of climate change is committing to the implementation of the Paris Agreement, which the Philippines, along with 195 countries, signed in France last December.
The new and legally binding climate change deal prompts developed and developing countries to limit global temperature well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
“The Paris Agreement has set the stage for change and we must not lose the momentum in the fight against climate change, no matter who gets elected as president. It can’t be ‘business as usual’,” de Guzman said.
The CCC, created by virtue of Republic Act No. 9729 or the Climate Change Act of 2009, is tasked to “ensure the mainstreaming of climate change, in synergy with disaster risk reduction, into the national, sectoral and local development plans and programs”.
It is also directed to coordinate and harmonize strategies of national government agencies against climate change, as well as develop and recommend national policies on climate change.
The CCC is chaired by the President.
Last week, the commission launched its Communities for Resilience (CORE) program to promote a risk- and science-based approach to climate change adaptation and mitigation planning among local government units (LGUs). It aims to deepen the understanding of climate and disaster risk by communities and strengthen the technical knowledge and capacity of LGUs in developing the Local Climate Change Action Plan through a series of convergence consultations and trainings.
Through CORE, the CCC intends to help facilitate access of grassroots communities, LGUs and people’s organizations to the People Survival Fund to support their respective climate change adaptation and mitigation programs.
Also last week, the CCC held consultations with representatives from the public, private and non-governmental organizations in Davao City to strengthen the climate change roadmap being finalized by the government.
The consultation-workshop also crafted strategies to integrate the Nationally Determined Contribution Roadmap in various national and local development plans, such as the Philippine Development Plan, Philippine Energy Plan, Local Climate Change Action Plan and Comprehensive Development Plans. (PND)