Simultaneous to the celebration of the 2018 Climate Change Consciousness Week, President Rodrigo Duterte joined several other heads of state and high-level policymakers today in the first Virtual Leaders Summit of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF).

The CVF, a coalition of 48 developing countries, was chaired by the Philippines when it led the campaign in 2015 to enshrine the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming threshold in the Paris Agreement. The Forum is currently chaired by the Republic of Marshall Islands, led by President Hilda Heine, who is hosting the online event meant to bring together world leaders and step up global climate ambition.

In his message, President Duterte, who chairs the Climate Change Commission (CCC), emphasized that climate change is “a day-to-day problem and reality” for our people, which is why the government has “pioneered [its] own climate finance mechanism for local adaptation projects and pursued other climate change resiliency initiatives.”

“Climate action and ambition must be shared and demonstrated by all nations,” President Duterte said, calling on all countries to do their “fair share” of climate action.

“I call on industrialized nations to significantly reduce their carbon emissions and provide assistance to developing nations in terms of finance, capacity building and technology transfers, as urged by the Paris Agreement. It is only by helping one another that we can win the fight against climate change,” Duterte said.

Climate Change Secretary Emmanuel M. De Guzman, as the Philippine National Focal Point to the CVF, also delivered a keynote statement, stressing that “climate action delayed is climate justice denied” and that “we must rise up to the 1.5 climate challenge to survive and thrive together.”

Senator Loren Legarda also shared her journey to champion the environmental and climate change advocacy in the Philippines through a message, delivered by Climate Change Commissioner Rachel S. Herrera, for the All-Women Summit Champions Panel that featured stories of women taking leadership in climate action.

About the CVF Virtual Leaders Summit

The CVF Summit, as envisaged by current CVF Chair and Republic of Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine, is an entirely online and carbon-neutral platform that calls for nations to show leadership and commit to raising their level of ambition in solidarity with the most vulnerable. Heads of state and high-level representatives are invited to participate in the CVF Summit and demonstrate intentions to raise ambition, including updating their national targets.

Read more: https://www.virtualclimatesummit.org/about/