General Santos hosts interfaith dialogue on climate change

MANILA, Philippines - The city of General Santos hosted on Wednesday an interfaith dialogue on climate change, which will enable public and private sectors to better understand and prepare for its impact.

“The development and progress of General Santos City will be undermined if the leaders and the populace are not informed of the climate impacts,” Climate Change Commissioner Heherson Alvarez said.

General Santos is among cities most vulnerable to climate change.

According to the World Wild Fund for Nature Philippines, some of the most serious problems that may hit the city and the region are low average rainfall, drought, flooding and red tide.

Alvarez lauded the local government for creating a technical working group that would serve as an advisory board for climate change adaptation and mitigation.

First convened in 2010, the dialogue aims to develop interfaith unity and action on common local and national climate change challenges.

The outputs of the conference will be used in preparing for the 21st Conference of Parties of the United Nation Climate Change Convention next month.