Germany is seeking to intensify its cooperation with the Philippines in terms of climate action as it warned on Tuesday that the world is now "living in an absolutely crucial time."
German State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action Jennifer Lee Morgan on Tuesday pushed for an intense partnership with the Philippines, one of the countries vulnerable to climate crisis, after visiting Tacloban, Leyte—an area that bore the brunt of Typhoon Yolanda that left thousands dead.
"We know that what happened in Tacloban is not a single event. This is something that is just one terrific example of what is happening in many places around the world," Morgan said at a climate talk held in Manila.
Therefore, Germany is moving towards accelerating its climate agenda with the Philippines by conducting the two countries' first ever high-level consultation.
Morgan would meet on Tuesday afternoon with Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Antonia Loyzaga to come up with a "blueprint" on how the two countries can start activating a "hotline" between their respective environment authorities to accelerate implementation of some of the priority environmental programs of the Philippines, including its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
The NDC binds the Philippines to attain an emission or avoidance in its greenhouse gas by 75 percent, as part of the country’s commitment to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
Expected to be discussed is the prospect for expanding access to Germany’s International Climate Initiative (IKI) as the Philippines is a focus country of IKI, being one of the countries in the world most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and one of the world’s 17 megadiverse countries.
Agenda items also include critical environmental issues of immediate global and national concern, such as the Philippines’ environmental priority programs on water security, decarbonization of the Philippine economy, and the strengthening of the country’s climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction and management capacities.
"I'm so pleased to be able to be here and thinking with the Philippine government how we can be accelerating our work together, how we can learn from you, you can learn from us and our lessons and mistakes across the year," Morgan said.
"And I'm also optimistic because when I talk to people around the world, I believe that there are not people who understand what's going on. They understand this and understand the opportunity that we have in front of us to transform and to really save millions and millions of lives moving forward and they are acting," she added.