Philippine senator to call for greater and more ambitious climate action in Bonn climate talks

BONN, Germany — The Philippines, as one of the most vulnerable nations to extreme weather events, has a lot at stake in this year’s climate negotiations, which will focus on the drafting of a rulebook on the implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change from 2020 onwards, said Senator Loren Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committees on Climate Change, Foreign Relations and Finance and UN Global Champion for Resilience.

Legarda, Head of the Philippine Delegation to the 23^rd Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bonn, Germany during its high-level event from November 13 to 17, said that the Philippines’ active involvement in this year’s climate talks signifies the steadfast commitment to realize the principles that we have championed in the Paris Agreement, which we ratified early this year.

” This is yet again a manifestation of our commitment to climate justice—to make the developed and industrialized countries answer for contributing the most to global warming and climate change—as well as a testament of our solidarity to the call for greater and more ambitious global climate action,” Legarda said.

“It is in this disposition that the members of the Philippine Delegation have prepared and engaged in the negotiations. While we continue to advocate for a climate goal that would limit global temperature to 1.5-degrees Celsius, we are also emphasizing the need for climate financing for projects and programs that would build the resilience of climate vulnerable countries, such as the Philippines, against the impacts of climate change,” she added.

Since November 6, 2017, members of the Philippine Delegation have been engaging in climate negotiations and advancing Philippine interests in the following workstreams: Adaptation; Mitigation; Loss and Damage; Agriculture; Capacity-building; Finance; Technology Transfer and Development, Implementation and Compliance, Transparency, Global Stocktake; Indigenous Peoples (IP), Persons with Disabilities (PWD), and Gender Concerns; Facilitative Dialogue 2018; and the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report on the 1.5-degree climate goal.

As Head of the Philippine Delegation, Legarda will deliver the National Statement and the ASEAN Joint Statement on Climate Change—the Philippines being the incumbent chair—during the High-Level Segment of the UN Climate Change Conference, which will be attended by dignitaries, ministers, and other senior officials of 197 member-countries.

The Senator will also deliver the keynote address to the Innovative Climate Finance Strategies and Instruments by and for Climate Vulnerable Countries and a presentation on the Philippine Perspective on Green Lending Instruments and Supportive Policy Frameworks to Scale Low Carbon Investments in the Asia-Pacific Climate Action Forum hosted by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). She will also be a guest speaker at the Discussion Session on the Best Practices of National Programs on Climate Change Communication organized by The Climate Reality Project.

Legarda is also scheduled to meet with UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa, the International Network of Parliamentarians for Renewable Energy, and fellow National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Envoys.

“In all of my engagements, the message will be clear: climate change has taken too many lives and destroyed too much of our environment—a source of basic commodities and livelihoods to many. Without proper interventions, we continually subject ourselves to climate and disaster risks. And in order to implement the necessary interventions, we need the technology, knowledge, skills, and financing to safeguard the welfare of our fellow Filipinos,” Legarda said.

“This is the message that we, as a developing country, would like to get across to the global community. I hope this call that carries the voice of the vulnerable would be supported by many,” she added.