Earth Protect Blog

Written by Estrella Torres / Reporter
Sunday, 29 November 2009 21:45

With the Philippines experiencing the harshest impact of climate change after three devastating typhoons, the British envoy to Manila gave assurances that his government will push for a clear timetable to a legally binding agreement from the heavy-polluting rich economies that will succeed the Kyoto treaty.

British Ambassador to the Philippines Stephen Lillie said the commitment of rich economies to the treaty succeeding the Kyoto Protocol is crucial to the global efforts to mitigate the devastating impact of climate change.

The Philippines suffered from three devastating typhoons—Ondoy, Pepeng and Santi (foreign names Ketsana, Parma and Mirinae, respectively)—which were linked to climate change. The typhoons left more than 1,000 casualties and a hundred people injured; and billions of dollars worth of crops, infrastructure and properties damaged.

The United Nations had earlier launched a flash appeal to raise $74 million, and consequently revised it to $174 million owing to the extent of devastation of typhoons Parma and Mirinae.

“We are determined to reach a comprehensive politically binding agreement at Copenhagen which covers all the major issues: including, most important, binding economy-wide emissions reductions from developed countries, significant action from developing countries to slow their emissions growth; and finance. And we need to see agreement on a clear timetable toward a legally binding treaty to lock in the political agreement we want to reach in Denmark,” Lillie said.

The United Nations will host the Copenhagen negotiations on climate change next month to reach a legally binding deal after the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012.

The Kyoto Protocol adopted in 1997 sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to an average 5 percent against 1990 levels from 2008-2012. The United States, known to be the world’s biggest polluter with 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emission share, had—under the Bush administration—refused to ratify the treaty.

Less than two weeks before the Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change, Janos Pasztor, climate adviser to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon warned that the level of carbon dioxide in the air has increased by 6.5 percent from the 1990 level.

“The latest science is telling us, we are in more trouble than we thought,” said Pasztor in a UN statement.

The British Embassy in Manila and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have been conducting seminars titled “4.8 Degrees to Degradation: The Economics of Climate Change and Sustainable Development in Southeast Asia,” to raise awareness on the impact of climate change.

“Failure at Copenhagen is not an option. But it will take real political leadership to make certain that we get a deal. At the moment, there are 65 heads of states or government that have pledged to attend the conference and we hope that this political momentum continues,” Ambassador Lillie added.

Dr. Juzhong Zhuang, ADB assistant chief economist, is presenting the highlights of an ADB report released this year during the series of seminars, the latest of them in UP Diliman School of Economics.

The report showed the effects of global warming in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. Temperatures in the four countries are projected to rise 4.8 degrees Celsius by 2100 and the global mean sea level is projected to rise by 70 cm during that same period.

The ADB report warned that if the world continues its “business-as-usual” approach, the mean cost of climate change for the four countries could be equivalent to losing 6.7 percent of combined gross domestic product each year by 2100—more than twice the global average loss—if market and nonmarket impacts and catastrophic risks are considered.

Amid doubts on scientific reports on the threats of climate change, Dr. Zhuang said that even in the face of uncertainties in the science of climate change, governments could not take the risk of inaction.

“If action is not taken now, it would be too late.”

Alan Silayan, managing director of Carbon Finance Solutions, meanwhile, agreed, adding that even if all the present assumptions are wrong, shifting to a low-carbon economy would still greatly benefit the environment and its contribution to sustainable development.

Dr. Zhuang also stressed the importance of climate-proofing societies through adaptation measures, including better water management and flood defense, better health surveillance and disease prevention and safeguarding forests.

He added that mitigation through the use of renewable energy sources and raising energy efficiency must also be implemented.

Dr. Zhuang has noted two milestone legislations adopted in the Philippines—the Renewable Energy Act and the recent Climate Change Act creating a Climate Change Commission.

“The region is already adapting, but more needs to be done,” he said.