Paris Agreement a farce if ‘big powers’ don’t comply —Duterte

The international agreement on reducing carbon emissions may turn out to be a "farce" if industrialized countries will not honor their obligations under the pact, President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday.

"Unless the hypocrites, the big powers, adopt it heartily, then we could have a climate change," Duterte said in a speech in Malacanang.

"(This) could be a farce if we cannot compel the other nations especially the industrialized nations to follow," he added.

As part of efforts to curtail the effects of climate change, the Philippines joined nearly 200 countries in a landmark deal in Paris in December 2015 to cut greenhouse gas emissions to limit the rise in global temperatures to below two degrees Celsius.

Duterte had earlier threatened not to recognize the Philippines' commitment to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change backed by his predecessor, Benigno Aquino III.

The Chief Executive said the mandated reduction of carbon emissions in countries like the Philippines might impede the country’s industrial growth.

Prevailed over by his Cabinet, Duterte signed the Instrument of Accession, which was deposited to the United Nations, in March last year. —NB, GMA News