Baguio, Dagupan, Tacloban most at risk to climate change – study

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga , Philippines   â€“ Baguio, Dagupan and Tacloban have been ranked as the most vulnerable cities to the effects of climate change, according to a study released recently by the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Foundation.

The latest study of the WWF and BPI ranked 12 major cities in the country.

Baguio obtained a score of 7.43 while Dagupan got 6.91 and Tacloban 6.74.

The other cities found vulnerable to climate change were Iloilo, 6.69; Cagayan de Oro, 6.68; Cebu, 6.65; Zamboanga, 6.32; Naga, 6.10; Laoag, 5.80; Davao, 5.6; Batangas, 5.65, and Angeles, 5.56.

Tacloban’s ranking came two months before Super Typhoon Yolanda devastated the city last November.

In presenting the results of Phase 3 of their study, WWF-Philippines vice chair and chief executive officer Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan said they aim to help Philippine cities prepare for the impacts of climate change.

“We are not scaring you. You know reality. We just want to help you to adapt and be sustainable,” Tan said, citing the importance of telling the people the risks they face from climate change, regardless of whether this would trigger antagonism from the business sector in their communities.

BPI executive Florendo Maranan said findings of the study were initially meant to be confidential and intended only for the business interests of his bank.

“But initial results convinced us that the communities would be interested in the findings,” he said.

The cities were ranked according to “climate exposure, socio-economic sensitivity and adaptive capacity melded to generate scores which show each city’s climate vulnerability,” Tan said.