Lawmakers hopeful Duterte will support Paris Agreement on climate change

Members of the House special committee on climate change said they are willing to convince President Rodrigo Duterte to adopt the Paris Agreement, a global pact to curb the effects of climate change.

The lawmakers made the assurance after Duterte earlier said that he would not honor the Paris deal, as he claimed it would only slow down the country’s move towards economic growth.

The House panel chaired by Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Rodel Batocabe said authorities from concerned agencies and non-government organizations (NGOs) were able to explain to committee the benefits of the treaty to the country,  during a hearing on the Paris Agreement and the various climate change issues facing the country. 

In a news release on Wednesday, the committee members said they are willing to present to the President the benefits of the Paris Agreement to the country. 

The committee earlier held a hearing on the climate change treaty on the basis of House Resolution 103 filed by Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate.

In a sponsorship speech, Zarate raised the demand for climate justice and for industrialized countries like China, the US and Japan, which he said are responsible for the degradation of the environment, “to cut down on their emissions drastically and not demand this from poorer countries.” 

“The COP 21 failed the people of the world in negotiating for a climate agreement that would step on the brakes before we find ourselves in a catastrophic climate shift,” said Zarate. 

He further said that an independent foreign policy, the suspension of mining corporations and a critical view of the Paris Accord are some policy directives that must be supported and reinforced.

Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay Jr., meanwhile, said he understood Duterte's sentiments against the Paris agreement, but remained hopeful the President would change his mind.

“I think we know that the President is reasonable. If we can explain properly to him that we will be allowed to put up coal-fired power plants, then I’m sure that he will change his stance,” said Pichay.

Pichay had already urged the Climate Change Commission (CCC) to help convince the President to support the environment accord.

“Like the Kyoto Protocol agreement, to which the country is party to, the Philippines might also benefit from the Paris Climate Change Agreement by providing the country a venue where developing countries can carry out their programs to help vulnerable countries and gain their carbon credits,” said Pichay. 

For their part, officials of the CCC said they had already been sending constant updates to the President through Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea. 

The CCC also said Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco convened an inter-agency meeting to discuss the Paris Agreement. 

Secretary Emmanuel de Guzman, CCC vice-chairman, said the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, signed by 197 party nations, is a product of two decades of debates and negotiations. 

“It is only voluntary in nature and undertaken by each party to contribute solutions based on its capacity,” he said. 

De Guzman clarified that the Philippines’ participation to reduce carbon emissions by 2030 is purely voluntary and only under the condition that mitigation efforts will be pursued if developed countries will invest on it. 

Moreover, the entire contribution target may also be modified into a final submission called the “nationally-determined contribution” through multi-stakeholder consultations according to him. 

De Guzman stressed that contrary to the President’s fears, the agreement will not impede the country’s economic growth. 

“The agreement defines climate justice as giving greater burden on developed countries–as likewise articulated by the President–to do more and to act swiftly in reducing carbon emissions, since they are the ones heavily contributing to the temperature rise and help developing countries like the Philippines in their adaptation and mitigation efforts,” said De Guzman. 

He said various government agencies and offices have already submitted their certificate of concurrence to the ratification of the agreement. 

He said Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato dela Peña was even willing to prepare a briefer for the President to explain the benefits and advantages of the ratification. 

De Guzman cited some disasters over the past decades, such as the 1990s dry spell, the Guinsaugon tragedy, Ondoy typhoon, and super-typhoon Yolanda, which claimed thousands of lives and billions of pesos in socio-economic losses, as among its many effects. 

“These were the effects of only below 1? Celsius level of global warming, while the scientific community predicts the entire world would experience around 4-6? Celsius by the end of the century if nations won’t do anything to stop it. This is expected to give rise to harsher droughts, super typhoons, killer landslides, alarming rise in sea levels, fast degrading coral reefs, and many more,” said De Guzman. 

The country ranks 4th in the recent Germanwatch Global Climate Risk Index. — RSJ, GMA News