Wazzup Pilipinas!?
The 26th United
Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) happening in Glasgow,
Scotland, is one of the very few COPs before 2030 - the point where if we do
not halve our global emissions to keep the warming within 1.5 degrees C, the
damage becomes irreversible. Urgency is key - on mitigation efforts,
climate finance, adaptation, and loss and damage. The Philippines is both a
megadiverse country in terms of biodiversity and 3rd in the world in the
Climate Risk Index. Our voice uniquely counts in COP 26.
The Philippine government
must be faithful to what the state of our people and planet unmistakably
reveal. We must not waste this opportunity to avert an impending disaster for
us all. We are calling on the current government, as well as candidates running
for office, to champion every Filipino’s human right to a safe and healthy
environment, and our basic right to exist and survive in this country. They
need to present a clear vision to navigate with exceptional leadership so
we all could be together in mitigating the effects of and coping with the
climate crisis that affects all of us.
Thus, our COP 26 voice
should resound with our commitment to:
- Synchronize all sectors on the
goal. A
commitment to mobilize and unite, from cities, government agencies,
companies, academia, civil society, and investors, among others to further
step up action in line with the Paris Agreement objectives to advance the climate
agenda, including in greening of COVID-19 pandemic recovery finance.
- Make national emission reduction
targets to be ALL “unconditional”. Build on the momentum for enhanced Nationally
Determined Contributions (NDCs), the National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), and
Long-Term Strategies (LTS), responding to the findings of the latest
UNFCCC NDCs Synthesis report. While we appreciate the commitments made by
the Philippine government, we know that we can do much better knowing what
we need, as only 2.71% of the 75% emission reduction target remains
unconditional, while the remaining 72.29% is conditional. This gives much
space for the possibility that the Philippine NDC targets will not be met.
Making ALL our targets “unconditional” fulfills our requirement which
could only work in our favor and also gives us a “buffer” in favor of
being nature positive. Transformational adaptation solutions and increased
climate funding should also be in place even as mitigation implementation
speeds up.
- Recognize and operationalize a
consistent and robust integration of the value of nature in our social,
economic, and political lives. These include but are not limited to legislation,
policies, strategic plans, budgets, measures, and tools that include
“nature” as an integral part of the framing of “cost and benefit” for our
people and country. The Philippines must also champion and support
technically, environmentally, and socially sound nature-based solutions
for mitigation and adaptation for its own systems as well as demand this
from other member-states and transboundary entities in the formal outcomes
of the conference.
The message was the same
over 50 years ago and we largely dismissed it. The message did not go away
because the realities that triggered it now loom over us as existential
threats. COP26 is one of the few remaining windows in time where we could
reverse the course. There should be no other choice but to be in the service of
life - ours and our one and only country, in our one and only home planet.
Together, we can change the ending and we can change it NOW.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
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