In celebration of the upcoming National Climate Change Consciousness Week (NCCCW), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Climate Change Service (DENR-CCS) pushes through with its fully-loaded activities – most of it to be held virtually – from November 19 to 27, 2020, while the COVID-19 is still present in the country.

With this year’s theme “Adapting for a Sustainable Future,” the annual week-long celebration aims to create awareness on global warming and climate change by pursuing broad and intensive public information and education campaigns to secure the cooperation of the private and public sectors.

“The ongoing climate crisis and pandemic has brought profound effects and impacts in our society. Despite limitations, we want to utilize this week to encourage individual actions and convene the public and private sectors to address this dual threat and contribute towards green recovery,” DENR Secretary Roy A. Cimatu said.

Upcoming events open for the public include the webinar on Turning Digital Innovation into Climate Actions on Nov. 19 (9 am to 12 nn); Ang Tinig Klima Special Radio Episode on DZXL on Nov. 20 (3 pm to 4 pm) which will tackle Peatlands Conservation and Climate Change; and a webinar entitled “Building Resilient Rivers… Resilient Communities” on Nov. 23 (1 pm to 5 pm).

Interested individuals who want to attend said events can visit the DENR-CCS’ Facebook page at https://facebook.com/DENRCCS.
“Through these activities, we aim to strengthen DENR’s partnership with the private sector in addressing climate change, especially through the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) which is vital in these times,” said DENR Undersecretary for Finance, Information Systems and Climate Change Analiza Rebuelta-Teh.

The DENR, through CCS and the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), will also be conducting several webinars with targeted attendees from the DENR central and regional offices, government agencies, non-government organizations (NGOs), and the academe. These are: Re-tooling on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation webinar on Nov. 19 (1 pm to 4 pm); Gender-Responsive Climate Policy and Action webinar on Nov. 20 (1pm to 4 pm); Climate Change and Human Security webinar on Nov. 24 (1 pm to 4 pm); Climate Change with International NGO Clean Air Asia webinar on Nov. 25 (9 am to 12 nn); and Climate Change Adaptation Seminar and Workshop on Site Assessment using Ecosystem-based Adaptation Criteria and Valuation Tools webinar on Nov. 26-27 (1 pm to 4 pm).

Together with the Philippine Association of Tertiary Level Educational Institutions in Environmental Protection and Management, DENR-CCS and EMB will also be holding a webinar entitled “Green Recovery Strategies in the Environment and Natural Resources Sector for the Better Normal: Challenges for the Academe” on Nov. 26 (1 pm to 5 pm) for educators in the country.

The Cabinet Cluster on Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation and Disaster Risk Reduction (CCAM-DRR), the inter-agency group headed by the DENR is also set to meet on Nov. 25 to discuss Assessment of Response and Recovery Efforts to the Effects of Typhoon Rolly and Typhoon Ulysses: Strengths and Weaknesses, Climate-Resilient Urban Plans and Designs; the bill creating the Environmental Protection and Enforcement Bureau; and a Future Philippines Initiative.

The DENR-CCS will announce on its official Facebook page the winners of “Mga Kwentong KLIMA-likasan” photoblog contest featuring photos on best practices by individuals and communities on creating a safe and healthy environment through behavioral change especially during this pandemic.

NCCCW will culminate on Nov. 27 with the launching of the United Kingdom-Philippine Partnership for Climate Change and Environment. The various bureaus, attached agencies, and regional offices of the DENR all over the country will also mount various activities highlighting climate change, and various ways to address it, in partnership with different stakeholders.

“We hope that through these activities, we will be able to tell everyone that we all can contribute to creating a safe and healthy environment through pursuing behavior change in their communities, especially during this pandemic,” Rebualta-Teh said.

Tagged as the Global Warming and Climate Change Consciousness Week under Proclamation No. 1667, series of 2008, different agencies and organizations around the country conduct different activities annually to raise awareness on climate change and environmental protection in our communities every third week of November.

According to the Global Peace Index 2019 Report, the Philippines is the country most at risk from the climate crisis with factors, such as extreme weather and climate hazards. ###