The Philippines said it will push for the adoption of a goal to limit the increase in world temperature by only 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century via deep cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions.
Manila is making the pitch for a more ambitious climate agreement at the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change being held in Paris, France, this week.Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima said that, aside from the $100-billion fund committed by the international community for climate change-related projects, nations should also reduce gas emissions to limit the increase in world temperature.
“Significant levels of finance, including $90 trillion in infrastructure investments by 2030, are a requirement if the world is to deliver on the 2°C goal. Our vulnerable nations are advocating, instead, for keeping warming to a minimum and support the more ambitious, but still feasible, target of below 1.5°C,” Purisima said in his letter to Australian Finance Minister Mathias Cormann.
“We do appreciate the considerable progress achieved ahead of COP21 as your government and other developed nations strive to deliver on the joint 2020 mobilization commitment of $100 billion per year. Although, according to a recent OECD report, 2014 mobilization levels were still $38 billion short of this figure, underscoring just how much remains to be accomplished in the next five years,” he added.
The Philippines is currently the chairman of the Vulnerable Group of 20 countries (V20), a coalition of countries vulnerable to climate change that have asked industrialized countries for more funds to mitigate the effects of climate change.
The V20 is particularly pushing for more climate change-mitigation projects to be implemented in developing countries like the Philippines, which are more vulnerable to climate change and are experiencing more frequent and intense typhoons.
The other members of the V20 are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bhutan, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Kiribati, Madagascar, Maldives, Nepal, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Vietnam.
The $100 billion sought by the V20 was committed by industrialized countries 2009 to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 2020. Cuts in greenhouse emissions are expected to be tackled in Paris this week.
The reduction of gas emissions is said to be key in limiting the increase in global temperature by 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Scientists said world temperature has risen by 0.85 degree Celsius since 1880.
Sen. Loren Legarda said the Philippines has “all the reasons” to ensure that a legally binding and universal agreement is achieved in the 2015 Paris Climate Conference because the country has been a victim of climate change for several years now.
“The Philippines cannot afford failure at the Paris Talks. If nations will not agree and commit to a climate deal that will limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, we will experience more destructive typhoons and stronger episodes of El Niño,” Legarda said.
In recent years, she said the Philippines was hit by stronger and more destructive typhoons such as Tropical Storm Ondoy (international code name Ketsana) and Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan). Currently, food production in the Philippines is under threat due to the drought caused by El Niño.
Legarda, chairman of the Senate Committee on Climate Change, cited a study from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) titled, Global Increase in Climate-Related Disasters, which looked at disasters from 1970 to 2013. The study observed that if carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere continued to rise, natural hazard-prone countries like the Philippines will be hit hard. The ADB study suggests that climate action needs to be a central component of national plans.
According to Vinod Thomas, coauthor of the study and director general of the ADB’s Independent Evaluation, “Policy-makers and economic advisers have long held the view that climate
action is a drain on economic growth. But the reality is opposite: the vast damage from climate-related disasters is an increasing obstacle to economic growth and well-being.”
Legarda said the 2015 Paris Climate Conference is a crucial event for the future of humanity and of the world.
“The world’s governments need to urgently, and with conscience, examine how we use energy and how to use innovation and new technologies to provide for the energy it needs in a sustainable and inclusive manner. Growth is difficult to imagine without energy; and energy that does not take into consideration the needs of future generations can only destroy and not build,” she said.
“For every second that ticks away is but a second closer to the next calamity. The United Nations said economic losses from disasters are ‘out of control.’ We should reverse this situation. Resilience should be at the core of our development policies and strategies. In climate and disaster risks, there may be no second chances,” Legarda added.
2 comments
Lahat atyo alam natin na ang carbon pollution ay ang pinaka malaking driver sa climate change kaya dapat natin bawasan ang [agamit nito.
WE HAVE TO REDUCE CARBON POLLUTION FROM POWER PLANTS