Eastern Visayas LGUs win Climate Leadership awards
Published Nov 6, 2018 04:32 pm
By Marie Marticio
TACLOBAN CITY – Ormoc City, Catbalogan City, the town of Kananga and the province of Leyte received the Allen S. Quimpo Climate Leadership for Governance Memorial Award from the Climate Reality Project Philippines at the National Museum of National History last Monday.
(image courtesy of The Climate Reality Project Facebook page / MANILA BULLETIN)
Climate Reality is a non-profit organization which focuses on climate change education and countering climate crisis worldwide. It was established following the consolidation of two environmental organizations, the Alliance for Climate Protection and The Climate Project, which were both founded in 2006 by Nobel Laureate and former American Vice President Al Gore.
On its second year, the organization recognizes outstanding Filipinos, organizations, network initiatives and local government units who have been catalyzing global solutions to climate crisis.
Ormoc Mayor Richard Gomez sees the award as a validation of all the city’s efforts to help save the environment.
“Our city is part of the Local Change Action Plan for climate change resiliency, together with the National Resilience Council. We are also on the finishing stages of enhancing the 25-year plan of our Local Climate Change Action Plan (LCCAP) with the assistance of UN Habitat under the Building Climate Resiliency through Urban Designs (BCRUD) Project,” Gomez said.
Ormoc, which has the third largest geothermal steam field in the world and hosts a solar power plant, is one of the few places in the world that is carbon negative, he said.
“The climate change problem is so big, but we must go home tonight knowing that there is no such thing as too big or too small, because every effort counts,” the mayor stressed.
Ormoc has an ordinance requiring new buildings, houses and subdivisions to have rainwater harvesting and collecting facilities. It also has a “No Plastic Day” every Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Catbalogan Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan said the city has been at the forefront of climate action especially.
It had the biggest Earth Day celebration in the region last April and has been campaigning to end plastic pollution through its “Wag kang Plastik” campaign, Tan said.
The city has a project making eco-bricks out of plastic bottles, tapping various sectors such as senior citizens, barangay officials, PWDs and students.
“It’s not easy to save Mother Earth, but I know together we can do it,” Tan said.
(image courtesy of The Climate Reality Project Facebook page / MANILA BULLETIN)
Climate Reality is a non-profit organization which focuses on climate change education and countering climate crisis worldwide. It was established following the consolidation of two environmental organizations, the Alliance for Climate Protection and The Climate Project, which were both founded in 2006 by Nobel Laureate and former American Vice President Al Gore.
On its second year, the organization recognizes outstanding Filipinos, organizations, network initiatives and local government units who have been catalyzing global solutions to climate crisis.
Ormoc Mayor Richard Gomez sees the award as a validation of all the city’s efforts to help save the environment.
“Our city is part of the Local Change Action Plan for climate change resiliency, together with the National Resilience Council. We are also on the finishing stages of enhancing the 25-year plan of our Local Climate Change Action Plan (LCCAP) with the assistance of UN Habitat under the Building Climate Resiliency through Urban Designs (BCRUD) Project,” Gomez said.
Ormoc, which has the third largest geothermal steam field in the world and hosts a solar power plant, is one of the few places in the world that is carbon negative, he said.
“The climate change problem is so big, but we must go home tonight knowing that there is no such thing as too big or too small, because every effort counts,” the mayor stressed.
Ormoc has an ordinance requiring new buildings, houses and subdivisions to have rainwater harvesting and collecting facilities. It also has a “No Plastic Day” every Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Catbalogan Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan said the city has been at the forefront of climate action especially.
It had the biggest Earth Day celebration in the region last April and has been campaigning to end plastic pollution through its “Wag kang Plastik” campaign, Tan said.
The city has a project making eco-bricks out of plastic bottles, tapping various sectors such as senior citizens, barangay officials, PWDs and students.
“It’s not easy to save Mother Earth, but I know together we can do it,” Tan said.