Climate commission reaffirms Phl obligations to Paris agreement

MANILA, Philippines - The Climate Change Commission (CCC) is preparing for the mainstreaming and finalization of the Philippine obligations to the Paris climate agreement following the Senate’s ratification of the deal on Tuesday.

“With its accession to the agreement, the Philippines confirms its commitment towards global climate action and affirms its leadership in pushing developed countries to undertake more ambitious action and to provide more support to developing countries,” the CCC said in a statement.

It said the instrument of accession would be deposited to the United Nations in time for the next round of climate negotiations in May.

“Meanwhile, the commission shall work on finalizing and later on mainstreaming our country’s obligations under the agreement into national policies, plans and programs,” the CCC added.

During the climate negotiations in 2015, the Philippines submitted its intention to conditionally reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent by 2030.

CCC vice chairperson and secretary Vernice Victorio said the document to be submitted to the UN would include a statement laying the groundwork for the comprehensive review of the contributions that the country would provide to the efforts to address climate change.

The sitting president is the chairperson of the commission.         

“The review will include a wider consultation on the previously submitted conditional emission reduction pledge of 70 percent towards the development of the Nationally Determined Contributions and will take into consideration our capacity to implement such contribution, support received from developed countries for climate action and our development pathway,” Victorio said.