Envoy hopes next admin to sustain Noy’s climate policies

PARIS – The next president should sustain the Aquino administration’s policies and actions on addressing climate change as disasters can erase the Philippines’ economic gains, the country’s ambassador to France said. 

Ambassador Ma. Theresa Lazaro said the next administration should strengthen the principles and regulations for climate change and environment that President Aquino has put in place.

“That is the importance of what President Aquino did. Regardless of the debates, we need to place them in the right place in terms of legislation and then the executive branch should implement it,” Lazaro told Radio TV Malacañang last Friday.

Lazaro noted that since Philippines is one of the countries vulnerable to changes in the climate, its growth can be easily wiped out by calamities. Such scenario will put the country in what she described as a “continuous cycle of rebuilding.” 

Aquino will attend the 21st Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which aims to forge a binding deal that will limit global warming below two degrees Celsius. 

The Philippines, however, wants the goal to be lowered to 1.5 degrees Celsius to enable risk-prone parties to cope with the impact of extreme weather conditions. 

While not a major greenhouse gas emitter, the Philippines has set an ambitious target, vowing to reduce carbon emissions by 70 percent by 2030. Officials, however, believe the goal can only be reached if the country gets assistance in the form of financial resources, technology development and transfer, and capability building.

The Philippines will also be lobbying for a “common but differentiated responsibility” for parties, which means that the countries’ commitments on climate change will depend on their capacities.