Implement measures to curtail climate change effects — Al Gore

Former United States Vice President Al Gore has advised the Philippines' next leader, who will be elected on May 9, to craft and implement measures to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Gore issued the statement on Wednesday after revealing during a forum two days ago that over 13 million Filipinos have to be relocated if the rise in sea level continues.

"Well, there are two sets of policies. One is adaptation. How do you put in place sensible plans to manage what is unavoidable? But the second is, how do we avoid what is unmanageable? How do we prevent and mitigate the damage that would be done if we did nothing?" Gore told GMA news anchor Howie Severino in a report on "24 Oras."

Gore, who is in Manila to speak about the effects of climate change as founder of the non-profit Climate Reality Project, also hit perceptions that putting up coal-fired power plants are cheaper than spending on renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind.

"That perception, you do hear that a lot, they do say that but it is now out of date," he said. 

He also gave his opinion on whether fossil fuel companies should be held responsible for the impacts of climate change.

"There are investigations underway in the US to determine whether or not some of these companies have committed fraud in falsely persuading people that the climate crisis is not real," Gore said.

"And many are comparing what they've done to what the tobacco companies did for so long...they hired actors and dressed them up as doctors... they would reassure people that there were no health consequences to smoking cigarettes. It doesn't cause lung cancer. That was fraud and they were held responsible."

The Philippines is among the least emitters of greenhouse gases that cause global warming, yet it is directly hit by the effects of climate change such as droughts and strong typhoons.

As part of efforts to curtail the effects of climate change, the Philippines joined nearly 200 countries in a landmark deal in Paris last December to cut greenhouse gas emissions to limit the rise in global temperatures to below 2 degrees Celsius.  — Virgil Lopez, BAP, GMA News