Climate Reality Leaders (CRL) in the Philippine welcomed the government’s commitment to a projected greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction and avoidance of 75 percent below business-as-usual levels by 2030.
The GHG mitigation target is enshrined in the draft Philippine Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement, which was presented at the second National Multi-Stakeholder Consultation early this month and at the meeting of the House of Representatives Committee on Climate Change, a CRL news release said.
According to the government’s Climate Change Commission, 2.33 percent of the mitigation target will be implemented unconditionally with nationally mobilized resources while 72.67 percent will require support or means of implementation provided under the Paris Agreement.
The Climate Reality Project Philippines Branch Manager Nazrin Castro said this ambitious mitigation target conveys the readiness of the Philippine sectors to leapfrog to a greener and more sustainable development pathway.
“We are ready to mobilize our roster of Climate Reality Leaders from the different sectors of society to provide technical support, advocate for ambitious action, and create more awareness of the NDC at the community level,” she said during the consultation.
CRL Paco Pangalangan and Jonas Marie Dumdum also delivered statements of support to the ambition set by the Philippine government during the consultation.
Pangalangan, the executive director of international research organization and consulting firm Stratbase ADR Institute, lauded the inclusion of an unconditional target, which was lacking in the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) submitted by the country in 2015.
“I think we could still enhance our unconditional target of our NDC by reflecting the actions and ambition from the private sector and all stakeholders,” he said as he emphasized the need to unlock the immense potential for renewable energy and to modernize energy grids to safeguard its systems and technologies to weather climate impacts, the news release said.
Dumdum, an associate consultant at the Gaia Corporate Sustainability Services Inc., echoed Pangalangan’s statement on the critical role of the private sector in achieving the country’s NDC ambition.
“The private sector is yearning for guidance from our government on how they too could align themselves with the NDC. The need for well-defined, predictable, and transparent policies from our government has never been more pronounced,” he said.
CRL Dr. Mydah Kabingue and Keith Ancheta, meanwhile, delivered interventions on the draft Philippine NDC during the meeting of the House Representatives, chaired by Rep. Edgar Chatto.
Kabingue, academic chairman of the College of Arts and Sciences of the Cebu Technological University, said the academe wishes to be more engaged in the NDC process.
“There are many universities that are already undertaking efforts consistent with the goals and aspirations of our NDC. There are many more, especially those who conduct research in climate-resilient crops and technologies for our agriculture sector,” she said.
Ancheta, a graduate student from the University of the Philippines Diliman, said the youth is willing to work with the government to help achieve the targets and implement the policies and measures in the country’s NDC.
“We also hope to be continuously included in policy and decision-making alongside other marginalized sectors, such as the farmers, fisherfolk, indigenous peoples, and others to ensure an inclusive consultative process,” he said.
Highlighting the need to empower the youth to contribute to the implementation of the NDC, Ancheta pushed for the inclusion of the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority in the NDC process, and for these departments to integrate climate change education in school curricula.
The Philippine NDC is set to be submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat by the end of the month.
As of December 2020, the Philippines remains to be the only party to the Paris Agreement that has not submitted its first NDC.
The Climate Reality Project Philippines expressed its support to the call of its host organization, the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), for the government to deliver both first and second NDCs in one submission.
According to ICSC Executive Director Red Constantino, this can be done by declaring the INDC submitted in 2015 as the country’s first NDC, the news release said.
“We can and must avoid unnecessarily doubling the effort of our agencies, considering that the next round of enhancement is aimed at 2025. If we deliver—in one submission—both first and enhanced NDCs, our agencies can focus on one single process of improvements aimed at delivering another credible 2025 NDC ratchet with similar ambition,” he added.
Image credits: Bernard Testa