The Philippines' climate action agenda is more important than ever following the country’s ranking as the most disaster-prone in the world because of its vulnerability to natural calamities and disasters.
Thus, said Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte in reaction to the Philippines' unsavory no.1 ranking in a "world risk report".
“I believe it is now up to the CCC to spell out for our people, especially to those living in low-lying or coastal villages that are of highest risk to human-induced climate change, what mitigation and adaptation steps it intends to carry out from hereon to prepare for and respond to perilous situations related to planet heating, even as the government aims to increase our domestic economic output,” he said.
The CCC stands for the Climate Change Commission, attached to the Office of the President (OP).
“We welcome President Marcos’s signing avowed commitment to give top priority to mitigation and adaptation measures for climate change in our country that is among the developing economies most vulnerable to the backlash from global warming,” added Villafuerte, who is the president of the National Unity Party (NUP).
The Germany-based Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft and Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict at Ruhr University Bochum (IFHV) has bared that the Philippines--in their World Risk Report 2022--rose in rank from no.3 in 2018 to the no.1 spot, with a risk index score of 46.82.
India was no.2 with an index score of 42.31; followed by Indonesia, 41.46; Colombia, 38.37; and Mexico, 37.55.
The same report also listed the Philippines as among the top 10 countries with the highest exposure to disasters, landing at no.4 with 39.99 exposure score. It only trailed China, Japan, and Mexico in that category.
“We want to know if the current CCC leadership is moving ahead or is tweaking the lofty—and brave—goal of the previous administration to reduce the country’s carbon emissions by 75 percent by 2030 despite the continued failure of wealthy nations to deliver on their pledge way back in 2009 to provide a combined $100 billion in annual financial aid by 2020 to countries like the Philippines that are the most vulnerable to climate change,” the Bicol solon said.
Villafuerte, who is majority leader of the Commission on Appointments (CA) in the House of Representatives, also wants the CCC to explain to the public how the government plans to accelerate the country’s transition from coal to clean energy.
This transition plan involves upgrading the national power mix by weaning away the country from its traditional dependence on fossil fuel in favor of “green” or clean sources of renewable energy (RE).