President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said there were three areas of partnership that the government and business sectors could get into to ensure the country's sustainable growth and promote efforts toward climate action.
*President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. (RTVM screenshot)*

Marcos said this as he opened the 3rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council (ABAC III) Meeting in Cebu City on Friday, July 28. In his speech, the President cited that today's global challenges, such as climate change, require economic and business initiatives to ensure that the issues are effectively addressed but in a sustainable and resilient manner. He said this would be possible with the cooperation of the business sector. "The business sector is not only a major contributor to the economy but also the most aggressive agent of change in our society today that has a role to play," Marcos said. The Chief Executive, in particular, cited three "areas of partnership" that would advance the government's efforts toward sustainable growth and climate action.

Identify solutions

According to Marcos, the government and business sectors must unite to identify practical, pragmatic, and promising solutions to sustainably address pressing issues like energy insecurity and the triple threat of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. "Striking a balance between being prescriptive and affording especially developing economies with policy space, we can pursue innovative technologies and approaches. For example, in the exploration of nuclear energy and small modular reactors as viable options for low or zero-carbon energy sources," he said. In the Philippines, President Marcos said the government has identified the use of renewable energy as a top of its climate agenda but they needed the full support of the business sector to see this through to fruition. "Shared investment would alleviate the financing burden of governments while the expertise of businesses in areas such as planning, operations, and execution and ensuring returns can be mainstreamed in the sustainability projects of the government," he said.

Data standardization

Marcos said there were benefits to utilizing data and models that come only from business activities, such as designing the green transition of the transportation sector through the use of sustainable and clean fuels, building green corridors, and modernizing public transportation. "We need to analyze fleet capacity and travel time, fuel consumption, and other data to enable us to make informed decisions on projects," he said. "Data templates, indicators, and baselines across our economies must be standardized to facilitate data collection and exchange, which will, in turn, strengthen the technical cooperation within APEC," he added,

Setting up standards

According to President Marcos, the government needed the leadership of the business sector to set up standards for responsible business conduct that would encourage sustainable practices while balancing rapid growth. He added that digitalization and innovation continue to enable regional economic integration through tools to bridge the digital divide and narrow the development gap. Marcos said that regional economic integration is possible through a just, inclusive, and sustainable transition by upskilling the workforce and providing green jobs, and strengthening structural reforms and macroeconomic fundamentals by promoting positive economic shifts.