The pandemic has not waned the government’s resolve to implement programs to address the impact of climate change, Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said.
During the virtual launch of the reconstituted 16-member National Panel of Technical Experts (NPTE) of the Climate Change Commission (CCC) on Wednesday, Dominguez, who is the CCC chairperson-designate, said “the pandemic has not and will not slow our response to climate change.”
“The pandemic is a problem, if it’s true it has lasted for three years, but the climate change issues that we have faced will affect the next generations. And we are very concerned precisely that we have to really boost up our responses to climate change and the way to do that is to gather a panel of experts who will help up implement climate change mitigation and adaptation,” he said.
Dominguez said people who rely on agriculture and fisheries for their livelihood are the most vulnerable to climate change thus, tapping experts, 14 of whom are based in the various regions nationwide, is a “no brainer”.
The new NPTE, dubbed as “action team” who were selected from more than 130 candidates, will work with local governments and communities regarding the implementation of the government’s climate change mitigation programs. (PNA)
