Legarda calls for drastic cuts in carbon emissions

The Philippines on Thursday urged developed countries to fulfill their commitments to the Paris Agreement by pushing for deep and drastic cuts in carbon emissions.

The country also called for the provision of finance and investments for innovative adaptation solutions in local communities.

Antique Rep. Loren Legarda, who heads the Philippine delegation in Madrid, Spain, delivered the country’s message during the high-level segment of the 25th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP25) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Countries that are signatories to the 2015 Paris Agreement are tasked to prepare and communicate their national pledges called “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs) every five years, with the cycle starting in 2020.

“The latest science tells us that our options to survive and thrive are swiftly diminishing. So in this COP, let us finish the work at hand, ‘the Paris rulebook.’ The urgency of action, unequivocally, is most pronounced today than ever. United climate actions must now happen in an ambitious scale, scope, and speed,” Legarda said.

“The committed climate finance of at least US$100 billion by 2020 and every year thereafter for the adaptation and mitigation needs of developing countries must now materialize, beginning with the immediate replenishment of the Green Climate Fund,” she added.

Legarda pointed out how the Philippines has exhibited climate leadership and commitment to act on the climate emergency.

She cited landmark climate legislations, such as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, Renewable Energy Act, Climate Change Act, People’s Survival Fund Act, National Protected Areas Act, Green Jobs Act, and the recent Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act, as well as the country’s increase of excise tax on coal importation.

“The Philippines, constrained as we are in means and capacities, has been doing all it can to make a difference in responding to the global climate emergency. It is in this context that we urge the developed country-parties to rise to the 1.5 climate challenge and uphold climate justice,” Legarda said.