Integrating climate change policies with socioeconomic planning would ensure not only poverty reduction but also sustained growth for the Philippine economy, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
In a virtual summit of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) School of Environmental Science and Management, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said the outgoing administration has already embarked on efforts to address climate change through mitigation and adaptation. He, however, stressed that more needs to be done.
“If we were to eradicate extreme poverty in the Philippines by 2040, and hand down a better planet to our children and grandchildren, climate change, adaptation and mitigation needs to be placed at the heart of socioeconomic planning,” Chua said.
Chua said Neda has formulated the Philippine action plan for sustainable consumption and production. This was done to provide a framework toward the shift to sustainable and climate smart practice in various sectors and the government.
He also said the outgoing administration has proposed the theme of the next Philippine Development Plan to be “Saving Our Planet, Saving Our Country,” to highlight the importance of climate change to the country in the coming years.
The Neda, Chua said, has also aligned all its network programs and staff groups with the goal of climate change adaptation and mitigation.
“If there is a large scale of inequality in the country where the poor cannot afford many, for instance, that the culture of the pandemic we have temporarily set us back in achieving our development targets. But we have put in place reforms in policy to put us back on track towards rapid and inclusive growth,” Chua said.
The Neda chief said the country has done well in terms of reducing poverty prior to the pandemic. He noted that the country achieved its highest ever poverty reduction of lifting 6 million Filipinos out of poverty in 2021.
While the pandemic has caused millions to lose their jobs and thousands of firms to close, Chua said the Philippine economy has slowly gotten back on track to sustained economic growth.
Chua noted that the economy has grown 5.7 percent in the first quarter of 2022 growth further accelerated by 8.3 percent. -30-