Leading clean energy firm First Gen Corporation has partnered with the Climate Change Commission (CCC) to help local government units (LGUs) on climate change adaptation, particularly in executing mitigation plans and strategies to abate the planet’s warming.
The memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed on Tuesday (January 24) between CCC Secretary Robert E.A. Borje and First Gen President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Francis Giles B. Puno.
In a statement to the media, First Gen emphasized that the deal aims to strengthen climate adaptation and mitigation initiatives of First Gen’s partner-communities and LGUs and promote science- and evidence-based risk assessments.
“Our mission of forging collaborative pathways simply means that we cannot do it alone. Signing an agreement with is completely aligned with what our company is trying to do, in addressing an important challenge that’s ahead of us – climate change,” Puno noted.
Climate change adaptation primarily refers to calibrating processes so communities or nations could adjust or adopt to the anticipated impacts of climate change risks.
The enforcement of mitigation plans and strategies, on the other, entails pursuing actions that could ease climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions – including the decarbonization pathways that are now widely embraced by various corporates and institutions globally.
Borje, who is also the vice chairperson and executive director of the Climate Change Office, noted that the partnership with the Lopez-led company has been stimulated by the common desire of both entities “to really move the development agenda forward for the Philippines.”
The commitments agreed upon by the parties under the MOA include those on the training of key stakeholders by employing CCC’s Communities for Resilience (CORE) modules.
As explained by First Gen, the CORE module sets forth a “background on national and international climate change policies and frameworks.”
The Lopez-led company further indicated that “both parties also committed to enhance the scope of First Gen’s flagship climate change information; education and communication (IEC) program” – and that shall complement First Gen’s IEC initiative that has a training component on localized climate risk profiling and climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Via the First Gen-CCC covenant, the host municipalities of the Lopez-led energy company “will be provided with guidance and technical assistance in the formulation and enhancement of the Local Climate Change Action Plan (LCCAP).”
It was expounded that the LCCAP “will help the LGUs in accessing the people’s survival fund (PSF)” – a policy that was framed under Republic Act 10174. Essentially, this will finance LGU-led climate adaptation programs.
Additionally, CCC had committed to organize capacity development training for selected officials and personnel of First Gen’s partner-communities, to intensify LCCAP development as well as the institutionalization of the people’s survival fund.