As soon as she took office as the mayor of Quezon City in 2019, Josefina ‘Joy’ Belmonte declared a climate emergency and laid down the framework for immediate climate action, one of the priorities cited in her 40-point agenda of governance. Subsequently, through Ordinance No. SP3009, s-2020, the city established the Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Department (CCESD) which paved the way to mobilizing the city’s resources for progressive pursuits addressing climate change. For example the allocation of as much as 13 percent of the annual budget allocated to climate change adaptation and mitigation programs, a first in local government.
With a whole-of-society approach to pursuing resilience and sustainability, the Enhanced Local Climate Change Action Plan 2021-2050 was completed, providing a road map to build climate resilience, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 30 percent by 2030, achieve net zero by 2050, and advance green economic development in a liveable and quality community.
The action plan emphasizes an inclusive climate action that guarantees that no one gets left behind, enacting policies and executing programs and projects that generate a meaningful impact for all.
The city’s strategies include intensifying a circular economy, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable transport. Quezon City has issued regulations and spearheaded programs that target the entire waste hierarchy and promote ways of prevention, reuse, recycling, and recovery. To this effect, several ordinances were implemented such as Ordinance 2868-2019 which bans the use of plastic bags in supermarkets, wet markets, and department stores, and Ordinance 2876-2019 which prohibits restaurants from distributing single-use plastic and disposable materials for dining customers. Hotels were also disallowed to distribute hygienic items such as shampoo, conditioners, and liquid soap in sachets and single-use containers.
In 2021, the city launched the Trash to Cashback, a program that encourages waste segregation at source, recycling, and rewarding participants with environmental points that can be used to procure groceries and pay for utility bills. From the barangays, this initiative will soon expand its coverage to schools and private institutions across the city.
To gradually phase out the patronage of sachets of shampoo and conditioner, dishwashing liquid, laundry detergent, and fabric conditioner, the Kuha sa Tingi program was implemented in 2023. Thirty sari-sari stores were enrolled in the pilot program which successfully prevented the purchase and use of 437,000 sachets in its initial implementation. Mayor Belmonte added, “In this business model we created, the seller earns more, the consumer spends less, and the environment wins. Our next step is to roll out this initiative in 1,000 sari-sari stores within this year and 5,000 more next year.”
For her green leadership and focus on reducing plastic pollution, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) recognized Mayor Belmonte in the 2023 Champions of the Earth award last October. She was honored in the Policy Leadership category for “driving environmental and social action through a raft of policies to combat the crisis, end plastic pollution, and green the urban enclave,” as stated in the UNEP announcement.
The 2023 Champions of the Earth awardees, the UN’s highest environmental honor, are recognized for their innovative solutions and transformative action to tackle plastic pollution.
Mayor Josefina ‘Joy’ Belmonte is one of Manila Bulletin’s Newsmakers of the Year. The MB Newsmakers of the Year Awards is co-presented by International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), GCash, SM Development Corporation, and The Medical City. This event is also supported by major partner SM Supermalls.