Duterte threatens anew to withdraw PHL from Paris agreement

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said he will pull the Philippines out of the Paris climate change pact if the countries "controlling interests there" do not fix it.

Duterte reiterated his misgivings about the agreement, saying it puts smaller countries such as the Philippines at a disadvantage.

"This climate change... I really don't know what would be the result at the end of the day, but I'm pretty sure that... I just hope that the nations that are controlling the interests there, including the money that they will contribute to the common fund — which I think we are not qualified to be in there — ayusin lang nila because 'pag hindi, magwi-withdraw ako. I'll be the first one," the President said in a speech for the inauguration and ceremonial switch-on of the Palm Concepcion Power Corporation in Malacañang.

Earlier this month, Duterte said he would ratify the agreement after discussing it with his Cabinet.

"After so much debate, ‘yung climate change, pipirmahan ko because a unanimous [Cabinet] vote, except for one or two," Duterte said on November 7.

The Philippines is a signatory to the pact, joining a list of 175 countries including the United States and China last April. The pact, however, is yet to be ratified by the country.

The agreement, a global pact to curb the effects of climate change, formally entered into force on November 4. It aims to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions worldwide by 2030.

The formal implementation of the climate deal came after 73 out of 195 countries ratified the agreement on October 6, reaching the 55 percent of countries needed for implementation. —JST, GMA News