EDITORIAL

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Nothing to lose, everything to gain

THE GOVERNMENT should expedite the process of ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change for the country to benefit from the pact. It seeks to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and possibly not more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The agreement entered into force on Nov. 4. More and more nations are ratifying it. Vulnerable small island states, such as Fiji, Marshall Islands, Palau and Maldives, took the lead and, recently, the largest emitters of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – US, China and India, and now the European Union – have deposited their instruments of ratification.
We see no reason for the continued delay on the Philippines’ ratification, especially that our own experience from super typhoon “Yolanda” was one of the rallying points for a more ambitious climate deal. We worked hard for this agreement. The Philippines was at the forefront of the Paris climate talks, leading climate-vulnerable developing nations in pushing for the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal. Now, with the entry into force of the agreement, it is ironic that we are taking our time.
The Climate Change Commission and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources must work together in expediting the process so that the Executive can immediately transmit the instrument of ratification to the Senate for concurrence.
The Paris Agreement is very important to us, being one of the most vulnerable nations to the impacts of climate change. There is no provision in the Paris Agreement that would prevent our industrialization. In fact, it addresses the issue of climate justice. There are clear provisions in the Climate Agreement saying that industrialized nations must come up with the funding needed to help the vulnerable nations.
Under the Paris Agreement, developed nations are asked to decarbonize economy-wide. They must raise $100 billion every year to help vulnerable nations for mitigation and adaptation, and to transfer technology. On the other hand, the Agreement acknowledges that developing nations, like the Philippines, will take time to decarbonize and will be able to do so with external support. This means that the success of the country’s conditional target to reduce its GHG emissions to 70 percent by the year 2030 will depend on both its efforts and the technical and financial support that will be provided to the country.
We have nothing to lose but everything to gain with the Paris Agreement.
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