The Philippines has long been identified as one of the countries most vulnerable to climate hazards, such as typhoons, floodings, landslides, and droughts. We are therefore not surprised that we are number 4 in terms of long-term climate risk index (CRI) from a study done from 1999 to 2018.
It is for this reason that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed the Paris Agreement on Climate Change in 2017, and given a global platform to squarely address the issue of climate change during the General Debate of the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly last year, the President “called on all parties to make good and honor their commitment to fight climate change, and strengthen communities and peoples for preparedness and resilience.” As the Chief Executive underscored, climate change is “a global challenge that has worsened existing inequalities and vulnerabilities from within and between nations.”
Having said this, we have formulated a Cabinet Cluster on Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation and Disaster Risk Reduction (CCAM-DRR) Roadmap for 2018 to 2022 to mainstream climate change and disaster risk reduction to identified climate vulnerable provinces and major urban centers such as Metro Manila, Cebu, Iloilo and Davao.
The government is taking all necessary steps to strengthen our capacities to mitigate and address the effects of climate change. For us to accomplish this task, we need the cooperation of all citizens. Through our collective action, we can build adaptive and resilient communities across the archipelago. This would be our gift to the future generations of Filipinos.
