The Philippines, represented by the Climate Change Commission (CCC), expressed its commitment to submit its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) before the year ends, despite the challenges in light of the COVID-19 pandemic at the ASEAN-COP26 Dialogue 2020. CCC Commissioner Rachel Herrera stated that the Philippine NDC will convey more realistic yet ambitious mitigation targets, alongside the country’s adaptation priorities. She also called for greater synergy within the region in raising ambition, especially in the implementation of the ASEAN countries’ NDCs to help achieve the global goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as prescribed in the Paris Agreement, taking into account the needs of vulnerable people, places and ecosystems. CCC Policy Chief Jerome Ilagan meanwhile emphasized that the existing policies, plans, and roadmaps of the Philippines will support the development of long-term strategies on low emission and sustainable development. The ASEAN-COP26 Climate Dialogue serves a platform for senior government officials from ASEAN Member-States (AMS) to share their experiences in meeting and enhancing their climate pledges under the Paris Agreement through NDC enhancement and implementation. The dialogue also provides an opportunity for AMS to exchange lessons on developing long term climate strategies (LTS), as well as promote cross-regional discussion on driving and building momentum for climate action in the lead up to COP26 and in exploring strategies for economic recovery from COVID19 within the region.
MANILA, 25 September 2020 — In celebration of the World Environmental Health Day tomorrow, the Climate Change Commission paid tribute to the country’s environmental health practitioners (EHPs), workers, and advocates, and called for stronger support for climate and environmental programs, especially in this time of pandemic and climate emergency. Celebrated every September 26th of each year, the World Environmental Health Day aims to underscore the impacts of environmental risks and hazards on public health and wellness. The observance is also in line with the Philippine Development Plan (PDP), which seeks to raise public consciousness on the relationship of health and the environment and promote activities that ensure accountability on health and environmental integrity. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly one in four deaths across the globe are due to environmental factors. Every year, an estimated 12.6 million people die as a result of living or working in an unhealthy environment. Environmental risk factors, such as air, water, and soil pollution, chemical exposures, ultraviolet radiation, and climate change contribute to more than 100 diseases and injuries. The CCC noted that the outbreak of COVID-19 disease caused serious devastation, loss of life, and economic hardship to people all over the world. At the same time, it has brought us to a turning point, of recognizing the greater value of biodiversity conservation and planetary health for sustainable development. In this World Environmental Health Day, as we exert all efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis, may we also continue taking better decisions and actions that would nurture and protect the delicate balance between humanity and the environment and planet we live in.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte virtually addresses the general debate of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), on September 22, 2020, in New York. This is the first time that President Duterte addressed the UNGA and has called on the parties of the Paris Agreement to exhibit urgency in fighting climate change. Before fellow world leaders at the 75th United Nations General Assembly, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte called for all to act on the climate crisis with urgency as one united community under the Paris Agreement. The President stated: “The same urgency needed to fight COVID-19 is needed to address the climate crisis. This is a global challenge that has worsened existing inequalities and vulnerabilities from within and between nations. Climate change has worsened the ravages of the pandemic. Peoples in developing countries like the Philippines suffer the most. We cannot afford to suffer more. The Philippines joined the Paris Agreement to fight climate change. We call on all parties, especially those who have not made good their commitment to fight climate change, to honor the same. We call on all parties to strengthen communities and peoples for preparedness and resilience. We are talking about mankind and Earth, our one and only home.” To this end, we underscore the need for climate action to shape our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Global and national economic stimulus packages must channel massive investments in renewable energy, sustainable mobility and transportation systems, ecosystems-based adaptation measures, and green and climate-resilient infrastructure. Keeping to the commitments in the Paris Agreement will allow the world to keep global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The 1.5°C temperature goal is a threshold of chance and hope for developing countries like the Philippines. If we breach it, we lose countless lives and bring immeasurable suffering, especially to the poor and vulnerable. Honoring the 1.5°C goal is to raise global ambition and accelerate action that would enable better support to build resilience for developing countries. It is to bring climate justice to the fore. We call on our leaders to heed science and let it inform the country’s national and local development plans to ensure strong risk governance and sustainable development at all levels. This must go hand-in-hand with the full implementation of our environmental and climate change laws. We urge our policymakers to create an enabling environment that would decouple economic growth from the endless extraction and misuse of natural resources, including the development of policies that will drive innovations in energy, transportation, and manufacturing systems. Lastly, we call for greater cooperation and action on the finalization of the country’s First Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). The sooner we submit our NDC, the sooner we can unlock new sources of climate finance that will enable us to advance rapidly the implementation of climate change adaptation and mitigation programs in our communities. May the President’s leadership resolve inspire all of us to increase the intensity and depth, and the breadth and impact, of our climate actions to make our development sustainable and our societies resilient.
