CCC Secretary's Message
The demand to meet the needs of industry and economic development is putting a heavy stress on earth’s resources. Vast tracts of forest land are being cleared to give way to agriculture, housing and infrastructure development. The bowels of earth are being mined for its precious metals and fuel while seas are fished to supplement our need for nourishment.
As a result, the balance between economic development and nature has been altered with dire consequences. We now experience scarcity in food and raw materials to meet the demands of industry and an ever-growing population. Aside from that, our wasteful practices and wanton disregard for the environment have accelerated global warming, triggering climate change and aggravating further the scarcity in resources we are experiencing.
But there is still hope. And this calls for a shift towards a green economic development.
While the Philippines is not a carbon emitter, our government is taking the direction towards a sustainable, low carbon, resource-efficient economic development, taking into consideration in the process the welfare of its people.
This is embodied in our National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) which draws our road map for the pursuit of a sustainable economic development. Initially, we are encouraging investments in green industries such as, development and production of transport modes that run on alternative energy, for instance, batteries or biofuel. We envision this sector to provide additional employment which we badly need.
While we encourage sustainable development, we also ensure that the welfare of the vulnerable sector of our society - women, children and the physically-challenged - is taken care of because they are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
With our direction clearly set, and with the determined support of our present leadership, the Philippines is determined to realized its goal to develop a green economy that is people-inclusive. We hope that this year’s celebration will help us accelerate the realization of our goal.
Happy celebration!
Sec. MARY ANN LUCILLE L. SERING
Vice Chair
Climate Change Commission