DEPARTMENT of Science and Technology Secretary Renato U. Solidum highlighted the importance of science and technology and its application in developing a comprehensive insurance policy in disaster-prone areas and in the face of extreme events triggered by climate change.
Speaking during the 16th Philippine Insurance Summit at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City on Wednesday afternoon, the DOST chief cited the need “to scale up the widest possible cooperation and multilateral collaboration for climate action and disaster resilience and to use technology and innovations to safeguard the country’s economic gains, while saving lives in times of disasters.”
“Let the climate and disaster data settle in. Let science and technology be central in our realization of building climate and disaster resilience,” Solidum told 320 participants representing close to a hundred insurance companies and organizations of insurance companies.
Sustainability and resilience
SOLIDUM emphasized that climate change poses major risks for development in the Philippines.
“Climate shocks, whether in the form of extreme weather events or slow-onset trends—will hamper economic activities, damage infrastructure and induce deep social disruptions. Nothing undermines development like disasters. Disasters can destroy decades of progress in an instant. This is why it is crucial that in our development agenda, we understand, prevent, mitigate and manage climate and disaster risks,” said the Science and Technology Secretary.
Citing the recently-launched “PH Climate and Development Report,” Solidum stressed that 1.2 percent to as much as 4.6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) is lost annually due to the damages brought upon by typhoons.
Meanwhile, in the “World Risk Report 2022,” Solidum noted the Philippines placed the highest among 193 nations in the world risk index as the country most at risk and exposed to natural hazards and the adverse effects of climate change. He noted that the report covered elements of exposure, vulnerability, susceptibility, lack of coping capacity and lack of adaptive capacities, where the Philippines gained very high classifications according to projections based on the last 20 years.
“This means that we are most prone to experience naturally occurring hazards including the impacts of Climate Change,” he said.
“Climate shocks, whether in the form of extreme weather events or slow-onset trends—will hamper economic activities, damage infrastructure and induce deep social disruptions. Nothing undermines development like disasters. Disasters can destroy decades of progress in an instant. This is why it is crucial that in our development agenda, we understand, prevent, mitigate and manage climate and disaster risks.”
Department of Science and Technology Secretary Renato U. Solidum
PDP
THE DOST Secretary pointed to the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 (PDP) as the country’s roadmap to becoming climate-resilient and disaster-resilient amidst these threats.
“In the new [PDP], there’s a dedicated chapter on ‘Accelerating Climate Action’ and ‘Strengthening Disaster Resilience.’ This reflects the overall strategic direction of the current administration to protect the environment and for people to mitigate and adapt,” he said.
Solidum cited the targeted outcomes where the DOST’s current efforts are aligned: increased climate and disaster risk resilience of communities and institutions; enhancement of ecosystem resilience; and, just transition to a low carbon economy.
“In the recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, it recognized how human activities greatly contributed to the change in climate. Thus, the need to transition to renewable energy solutions,” he added.
Science, innovations
SOLIDUM said the DOST has developed applications using technology to harness science, governance and “disaster imagination” and localization such as the “GeoRisk Philippines.”
An innovative geospatial integrated platform developed by the DOST in cooperation with other mandated government agencies, “GeoRisk Philippines” aims to harmonize information, gather and share multi-hazards information, to improve the vulnerability and risk assessments and disaster prevention, preparedness, response and recovery planning.
“The vision of the multi-agency ‘GeoRisk Philippines’ is to be the country’s central source of information for hazards and risk assessment, in order to help the government, increase Filipinos’ resilience to natural hazards,” he said.
Meanwhile, another technology developed by the DOST is the “GeoAnalyticsPH.” This technology provides visualization and hazards assessments of local government unit (LGU)-level land area, population and related exposure information, such as schools and health facilities. The “GeoAnalyticsPH” produces a rain-induced landslide assessment for the city of Cebu.
Another publicly-available platform is the “HazardHunterPH,” which provides site-specific seismic-related, volcanic-related and hydro-meteorological-related hazards. The system is also capable of producing a comprehensive report that explains what the hazard means and what recommendations can be given to the users. All the information comes from the government agencies.
Lastly, the DOST has the “PlanSmart Ready to Rebuild” web application that aims to streamline the processes in releasing funds for rehabilitation and recovery by allowing the LGU to auto-generate their rehabilitation and recovery plans.
Insurance
Interviewed by the BusinessMirror after his talk, Solidum said science and technology, particularly those that deal with climate change and disaster risk reduction, are useful tools for both the insurer and their potential clients.
“Actually, we have been a long-time partner with the insurance industry in terms of exposure database development and risk assessment,” Solidum told this newspaper. “In fact, they actually need our projections and the tools when they evaluate and develop services or new ways of insuring the different sectors for life and the assets of businesses.”
Essentially, he said insurers need the science, data and information gathered by the DOST in the way they formulate the premiums for their insurance.
In the process, he said, “the people who need financial protection will be protected while the insurance companies also profit from it.”
