THE Philippines will lead the global Climate Vulnerability Forum (CVF) beginning January 2015 until 2016.
This was announced by outgoing CVF President Edgar Gutierrez-Espeleta, minister of environment of Costa Rica, in the climate talks in Lima, Peru, this week. Vice Chairman Lucille Sering of the Philippines’s Climate Change Commission, and head of the Philippine delegation to the talks, is the new CVF president.
In a brief message, Sering ensured that under her leadership, CVF “will not only highlight our vulnerabilities but also the gains, and share them not only among the 20 members of this CVF but also to the rest of the world.”
The CVF is a global partnership of countries that are disproportionately affected by the consequences of global warming.
It was established prior to the Copenhagen UN climate summit in 2009, when 11 governments convened in the Maldives and adopted its first declaration that spelled out concerns, demands and commitments to action shared by vulnerable countries.
CVF is composed of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bhutan, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Kiribati, Madagascar, Maldives, Nepal, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Tanzania, Timor Leste, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Vietnam.
The forum addresses the negative effects of global warming as a result of heightened socioeconomic and environmental vulnerabilities.
The member-countries are actively seeking a firm and urgent resolution to the current intensification of climate change, both domestically and internationally.
Sering called for real and urgent measures to reduce long-term emission reduction that reflects efforts across the world. These efforts, she said, should meet what science requires and should be shown not only in the draft agreement but, more important, agreed ahead of the Paris talks. Reflecting on the Philippines’s initiatives to combat climate change, Sering said the government’s policies remain progressive, especially in the area of renewable energy.
She added that the government is also embarking on a low-emission development strategy, including increasing the national budget for climate-change actions and programs.
Sering lamented the loss that climate change is exacting on the country, which is estimated at 5 percent of its gross domestic product.
However, Sering believes that the country’s vulnerabilities can be reduced, noting that the know-how and technologies are already available.
“The body of innovations is growing. However, developing countries, vulnerable ones need access to these, including financing,” she stressed.
Sering expressed her optimism as she accepts the top CVF post.
“The road to Paris [climate conference in 2015] is fraught with difficulties but not insurmountable,” she said. “We look to the CVF to show the way, the most affected vulnerable countries uniting not only to simply mourn and grumble about their increasing vulnerabilities but doing something about it collectively,” she added.