Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda believes that the Philippines’ National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and Nationally Determined Contribution Implementation Plan (NDCIP) are instrumental to enabling low-carbon systems and technologies and supporting genuine and lasting resilience in the country.

She made this statement as she expressed support for both plans during a high-level dialogue in the Philippine Pavilion at the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

“Our NAP consolidates all available options that we need to prioritize so that we address present and anticipated climate risks across our regions,” explained Legarda, a UNFCCC National Adaptation Champion and Global Champion for Resilience.

“Our NDCIP, meanwhile, identifies all our priority policies and measures in achieving our committed target of 75 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,” she added.

The Philippines is the world’s most at-risk country when it comes to disasters and climate change and is among the most affected by climate change.

Aside from being in the Pacific Ring of Fire, where earthquakes and volcanic activity are more pronounced, the country is hammered by powerful typhoons and threatened by rising sea levels due to climate change.

Because of this, Legarda asserted the need to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and mobilize support for climate-vulnerable countries like the Philippines.

“The urgency to adapt—to safeguard vulnerable populations and build resilience within our communities—has never been clearer. Mitigation is just as important to minimize the scale and intensity of climate impacts we must adapt to, as well as leapfrog to low-carbon systems and transform our ways of living for the better,” Legarda concluded.