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Thursday, March 16, 2017
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FINALLY, President Duterte has ratified the historic Paris climate agreement and the Senate has concurred.
The Paris Agreement is very important for the Philippines, being one of the most vulnerable nations to the impacts of climate change. Now that we have ratified it, we can access the Green Climate Fund. This is what we have been waiting for—for developed countries that are the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases (GHG) to aid vulnerable, low-emitting nations like the Philippines. The Paris Agreement addresses the issue of climate justice.
To be sure, there is no provision in the Paris Agreement that would prevent our industrialization. We have nothing to lose, but everything to gain with it. Under the 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, as stated in its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, will depend on both its efforts and the technical and financial support that will be provided to the country.
The Philippines was among the most influential countries in the crafting of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which seeks to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and possibly not more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. Our own experience from super typhoon “Yolanda” was one of the rallying points for this ambitious climate deal.
The Paris Agreement is crucial in our pursuit of sustainable development and climate and disaster resilience.
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