Noy to urge all nations to cut carbon emissions

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino will deliver a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York about the worsening and destructive effects of climate change, calling on all nations to help reduce harmful carbon emissions, a Cabinet official said yesterday.

Secretary Mary Ann Lucille Sering of the Climate Change Commission said this was upon the “personal” invitation of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and Aquino will highlight on Sept. 23 the need for the global community to work hand in hand in preventing disasters.

“UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon wants this topic to fast-track the call for climate change that it took 20 years for the whole world to negotiate up to now,” Sering said.

Sering explained the issue on climate change is not limited to disasters, but pointed out it will also carry a great impact on the economic standing of nations.

This is why the UN is trying to focus on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, she said.

No less than the US has finally acknowledged the need for such a summit, considering that highly developed countries emit more carbon than developing ones, usually more vulnerable to disasters that have now also hit developed countries.

“What we see now is the number of typhoons are increasing while there are also some areas experiencing more extended summers. These are factors in the environment that we tend to ignore,” Sering said.

She said it is also important for the Philippines to mention Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan) that packed winds of more than 300 kilometers per hour as an example of worsening and phenomenal natural calamities.

Haiyan of November 2013 is dubbed as the world’s worst typhoon in recorded history.

“We should mention the devastation left by that storm in our country. We should elevate before the international community the efforts of the Philippine government to mitigate the effect of the typhoon,” she said.

Sering added the speech would convince other countries like the US, China, India and Brazil to participate in efforts to address the effects of climate change.

“This is an attempt to really save the multilateral process as the only mode, right now, where we feel would be the right way to deliver the reduction of greenhouse gases,” Sering said.

Sering noted the reluctance of big nations in trying to solve the problem.

Other highlights of Aquino’s speech include government efforts at trying to combat climate change through use of renewable energy, for which a law has been passed in 2008, and “bus rapid transport” using electric vehicles as an alternative mode of transport.

Another would be the bill regarding energy efficiency that is being pushed in Congress. There should also be discussions on whether the Philippines will be among the countries in Southeast Asia to be using the first windmill.

Sering also mentioned Aquino’s inauguration in mid-May of the biggest solar farm in the country – the San Carlos Solar Energy Inc. in Negros Occidental – aimed at reducing the dependence on traditional sources of power and having a more dependable steady power supply.

The Philippines is also the first nation in Southeast Asia to have formed a People Survival Fund Board where government has allocated specialized funding to allow local government units to access technical support in light of their lack of technical expertise.