Three of the Philippine cities—Makati and Pasig in the National Capital Region, and San Carlos in Negros Occidental—have been selected as national finalists in the 2017 and 2018 run of the World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) One Planet City Challenge (OPCC), the WWF announced.
They have been selected with 40 other cities, which bested 133 cities from 23 countries for the OPCC, a biennial global challenge that recognizes cities for developing infrastructure, housing, transport and mobility solutions to power the global transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future, the WWF added in a news release.
“Cities must cultivate their potential to directly improve the quality of life of their citizens while simultaneously reducing environmental impact. Offering smarter alternatives for energy, transportation and building standards that affect a significant number of people is key in ensuring that we all thrive without pushing the limits of our shared home,” WWF-Philippines President and CEO Joel Palma said.
Palma congratulated the three national finalists, as well as the qualifiers to the OPCC—namely the cities of Parañaque, Naga, Batangas, Catbalogan, Zamboanga and Tagum—for championing low-carbon solutions through progressive policies and actions.
The three Philippine national finalists will participate in the OPCC’s “We Love Cities” campaign that is aimed at inspiring and engaging their respective citizens for support, as well as sharing ideas for improvement, from May 7 to end of June.
WWF said an international expert jury will review all finalist cities to select both national and a global winner, which will be announced in June/July 2018 and will be later celebrated in a global awards ceremony.
OPCC was launched in 2011 as the Earth Hour City Challenge. It highlights the crucial role that cities play in the transition toward a low-carbon and sustainable future, WWF said.
Since then, 420 countries from five continents have heeded the call to sustainably address fast and large transformations in population, consumption patterns, resource use and waste management. This year’s OPCC is anchored on sustainable transport and mobility, which is a major environmental challenge for cities around the globe.
Almost one-third of carbon emissions come from the transportation of people and goods.
With the challenge, the cities have the great opportunity to capitalize on sustainable solutions like renewable energy and positive synergies to meet the demands of highly urbanized lifestyles without exhausting our planet’s ecological capacity, the WWF added.
“Over half the world’s population now live in cities, and they generate over 70 percent of the world’s climate footprint,” the WWF web site said. But cities also offer an immense opportunity to create better places to live while contributing to a healthier planet in the process. “Through better transport, green buildings, harnessing the power of nature, wasting less and loving more, cities can lead the way to a climate-friendly future,” the web site added.