Noy urged to adopt covenant vs climate change

MANILA, Philippines - The chairman of the House committee on ecology is urging President Aquino and Congress to adopt the 1st Malolos Green Covenant signed last year by heads of local government leagues as part of the government’s blueprint to combat the adverse effects of climate change.

Laguna Rep. Danilo Ramon Fernandez said the covenant provides for the yearly public recognition of best working practices through the establishment of the “Climate Change Awards.”

The covenant focuses on sustainable development and the attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets for 2014 by promoting the eco-cultural tourism potential of the Philippines as a premier tourist destination, he said.

Fernandez said the covenant also seeks to preserve cultural and environmental assets and designs and implement programs that will fully utilize climate and disaster proofing measures in restoring and preserving man-made structures, and modifying business practices, design investments and other measures for proper response to climate change.

Fernandez also appealed to the President and his lawmaker colleagues to support the call of national and local government entities and stakeholders for local capacity building in climate-proofing land use plans and development programs.

He said the Philippines, as a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol, has adopted various policies to comply with its commitment to the convention.

In August 2012, a thousand local government officials and delegates attended the 1st Philippine Tourism Conference on Climate Change Adaptation in Legazpi, Albay and affirmed the urgency of intensified efforts to fulfill national commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).