CCC urged to submit Philippines’ climate pledge to Paris Agreement

A measure has been filed at the House of Representatives urging the Climate Change Commission (CCC) to submit the Philippines' pledge to the Paris Agreement to help address climate emergency and drive the country towards sustainable pandemic recovery.

Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda has filed House Resolution 1494, which calls for the country's pledge to the Paris Agreement, known as the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), to give the “highest possible climate ambition in reflection of the government’s strong commitment to contribute to global efforts to advance climate justice.”

“There is no place for fear or hesitancy in expediting our country’s NDC submission [as] will drive all sectors of the economy to strengthen their capacity to reduce disaster risks and adapt to climate change into a thriving a post-crisis scenario that turns crisis into opportunity," Legarda said in her resolution.

At the same time, the former senator also pushed for a “more inclusive and consultative process from a wide range of stakeholders” in formulating the NDC, recognizing the calls of civil society groups for urgency, ambition, and justice as the bottom lines of the country's pledge.

Signed at the end of the 21st Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, more commonly known as COP21, in April 2016, the Paris Agreement aimed to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions worldwide by 2030.

Parties to the agreement were asked to submit their NDCs by December 31, 2020, but the Philippines has failed to submit its pledge before the deadline, according to a joint statement of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, Aksyon Klima, Asian People’s Movement on Debt and Development, and other climate networks.

“With the pandemic, we have come to realize that our world is not that advanced and resilient as we thought it to be. Our social and economic systems are fragile. However highly interconnected, we are only as strong as the most vulnerable among us," Legarda said.

"The best way forward is to heed science and take decisive actions for our collective recovery that also secures a cleaner, safer, and more resilient world for all,” he added.

In a separate statement on Tuesday, the Climate Reality Project Philippines, an organization of Filipino climate reality leaders, backed Legarda's call for the CCC to submit the Philippines' climate pledge.

"It is unfortunate that we are one of the last few remaining countries to submit their NDCs because other countries have looked up to us for climate ambition and leadership," it said.

"We must however remain resolved in the whole process and continue recalibrating our economic simulation and integrating input from the civil society, private sector, and stakeholders, so we could convey the highest climate ambition that our whole nation could possibly commit," it added. — BM, GMA News