The Climate Change Commission (CCC) emphasized that there is no more time for inaction as global warming continues to accelerate.

Only greater and ambitious climate commitments from nations across the globe could halt the increasing trend of greenhouse gas emissions as 2020 was one of the three warmest years on record, CCC said, citing consolidated datasets from various international climate monitoring centers.

Despite the reduced economic activity across the globe due to COVID-19, and the prevalence of La Niña phenomenon expected to last until April of this year, climate change continues to accelerate with remarkable speed. 

The United Kingdom Met Office’s annual global temperature forecast for 2021 suggests that this year will once again enter the series of the Earth’s hottest years, despite being influenced by the temporary cooling of La Niña, the effects of which are typically strongest in the second year of the event.

Given these projections, the CCC warned that the Philippines would be severely impacted given our status as a developing and vulnerable country. 

These projections might mean more frequent and intense extreme weather disturbances like tropical cyclones which will impact our poorest communities.

It can be remembered that in the last quarter of last year, the Philippines recorded almost ₱15 billion worth of damages in the agriculture sector due to three successive typhoons—Quinta, Rolly, and Ulysses—which hit the island of Luzon in a span of a couple of weeks, affecting hundreds of thousands of farmers and fisherfolks.

On infrastructure, almost ₱13 billion worth of damages were recorded by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council for typhoon Ulysses alone.

The impacts of climate change are felt across all sectors globally. 

The CCC emphasized the need to strengthen public-private partnerships in promoting climate-resilient investments, and in mainstreaming disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and mitigation.