Marcos eyes Senate approval of green growth strategy
President Marcos is optimistic that the Senate would immediately ratify an agreement that would host an office for the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), which will help the country in climate resilience and promote green growth strategy.
Marcos expressed his confidence when he met on Monday with former United Nations Secretary General and GGGI chairman Ban Ki-moon, who paid him a courtesy visit at the Malacañang Palace.
The President first approved the signing by the Philippine government of the Host Country Agreement (HCA), which will greenlight GGGI's establishment of office in the Philippines.
The agreement needs to be ratified by senators.
“We welcome any assistance or any advice on the subject (climate change). I’m certain that after you meet with the Senate President and you will speak with the senators, the ratification of the agreement will follow very quickly,” Marcos told Ban.
"I think it is something we are all, all of us in government or out of government have really put a great deal of emphasis on simply because it has been… it has affected us greatly. I hope that we can come with some strategies that will help us," he added.
Meanwhile, Ban told Marcos of the institution's support to the efforts of his administration to address climate change, Malacañang said.
During their meeting, Marcos also said the world can no longer avoid the bad effects of the changing weather pattern, particularly with the continuous warming of the Earth’s atmosphere.
He lauded the Asia Development Bank’s (ADB) mitigation strategy, which he said plays an important role in the Philippine’s climate mitigation and adaption efforts.
Marcos stressed the significance of anticipating future needs in the face of this new situation.
According to Malacañang, Ban noted that the Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries in terms of natural disasters caused by climate change.
"Ban said the GGGI looks forward to working with the Marcos administration for the country to adapt to changing climate situation. He added that they are ready to work with the Philippines’ foreign, environment, and economy ministers."
Aside from meeting the senators, Ban is scheduled to give a speech on climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
With headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, the GGGI was established as an international intergovernmental treaty-based organization in 2012 at the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, dedicated to supporting and promoting strong, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth in developing countries and emerging economies.
Since the Philippines’ membership in 2012, GGGI has been providing the country technical assistance and capacity building programs, amounting to more than US$13 million, to help the country attain its sustainable development goals, particularly in promoting climate resilience and green growth development strategy.