Philippines finalizes climate change action plan

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is now finalizing its climate change mitigation and adaptation plans as the country develops its strategies to address climate change in line with its obligations to the Paris agreement.

The Climate Change Commission (CCC) said stakeholders hope to come up with the final list of priority actions to address climate change by the first quarter of 2018.

It will also develop the sectoral transition plans by the second and third quarters of next year as the final nationally determined contribution (NDC) will be submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by end-2018.

“The success of limiting global warming to 1.5°C depends on the commitment to implement the NDCs,” CCC commissioner Emmanuel de Guzman said.

The country has committed to reduce its carbon emission by 70 percent by 2030 which will come from energy, transport, waste, forestry and industry sectors.

“Our collective resolve to pursue a low-carbon and climate-resilient development pathway will open doors and mobilize finance,” De Guzman said.

The Philippine accession to the Paris agreement entered into force last April. It was a landmark agreement reached at UNFCCC’s 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) aimed at limiting the global temperature rise to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.

The Low Carbon Monitor Report noted that keeping to a 1.5°C limit could raise economic output by as much as one percent by the 2040s “since so many of the devastating impacts associated with higher levels of warming would be avoided.”

Low-emission power generation and renewable energy produce the greatest number of jobs per megawatt, far more than carbon intensive energy systems.

“By aiming for 1.5°C instead of 2°C, and investing more in energy efficiency and renewable energy, we can create almost 70 percent more jobs as early as 2030,” the report said.