The Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary and designated representative of the President to the Climate Change Commission (CCC) Carlos Dominguez III announced on Thursday that they are eyeing partnership with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the creation of innovative energy efficiency programs that can be implemented in the country.
In a news statement issued on Thursday, Dominguez said the proposed partnership with UAE is expected to help in conceptualizing and implementing innovative energy efficiency programs to contribute to the global effort to reverse the devastating effects of climate change.
During the Climate Change Virtual Conference hosted by the UAE Embassy in Manila, Dominguez welcomed the UAE’s ongoing efforts to deploy and use clean energy solutions as one of the main pillars of its model to address the challenge of the worsening climate crisis and significantly reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
UAE, a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), unveiled in 2017 a strategy that aims to increase the share of clean energy in its total energy capacity mix from 25 percent to 50 percent by 2050.
It will host the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP) next year.
“Reversing the trend towards global warming will require the work of generations. It will be hard and interminable work. We have to put in that work to save our planet. There is no other alternative,” Dominguez said.
According to the Finance Secretary, over the last decade, the Philippines incurred losses and damages from climate-related hazards estimated at about $10 billion, which is equivalent to an annual average of about $1 billion.
Dominguez said the Philippines has been working hard to build practical and localized action plans to help mobilize communities to meet the challenges posed by climate change, as it is among the economies most vulnerable to the ill effects of global warming even though it contributes only 0.3 percent to the world’s GHG emissions.
According to the 2020 World Risk Index, the Philippines ranks 9th out of 181 nations in the world as the countries most affected by extreme weather events.
The Philippine archipelago is also sinking at a rate four times faster than the global average and continues to endure cycles of drought and flooding.