FROM THE DENR SECTOR PERSPECTIVE, AND THAT’S FROM THE DENR, WE SEE CLIMATE CHANGE AS A SYSTEMIC RISK. THE AGGRAVATING IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE ENVIRONMENT HAVE PROFOUND CHALLENGES TO BE ADDRESSED CONSIDERING THE FEEDBACK, DEPENDENCIES, INTERACTIONS AMONG WHAT WE REGARD AS COUPLED SYSTEMS.

CLIMATE, ECOSYSTEMS, AND BIODIVERSITY AS WELL AS HUMAN ACTION, THESE FORM THE BASIS FOR EMERGING RISKS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE, ECOSYSTEM DEGRADATION AND BIODIVERSITY LOSS. WE RECOGNIZE THAT ALL RISKS START LOCALLY, ALTHOUGH CLIMATE CHANGE IS A GLOBAL PROBLEM. THUS, IT IS CRUCIAL TO UNDERSTAND THE INTERSECTIONALITY OF VULNERABILITY, DIFFERENTIATION OF VULNERABILITY AND EXPOSURE ACROSS SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS. THESE ARE DYNAMIC AND COMPLEX SYSTEMS. VARIED LEVELS OF THREATS, VULNERABILITIES AND EXPOSURES, AND THEREFORE THE APPROACH MUST BE TO ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT THAT SHOULD BE RISK-BASED, AND THAT IS THE CRY AND CALL FOR THE DENR AT THE MOMENT.

WE RECOGNIZE CLIMATE CHANGE AS A WICKED PROBLEM, WHERE YOU FIND IRREDUCIBLE UNCERTAINTIES. NO SINGLE PROBLEM DEFINITION, MULTIPLE SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL SCALES, DIVERSE STAKEHOLDERS WITH COMPETING VALUES, INTERESTS AND CAPACITIES, HIGH RISKS AND POTENTIALLY IRREVERSIBLE IMPACTS.

THIS ASYMMETRY IN CAUSES AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE IMPACTS ACTUALLY SHOULD BE THE KEY PIVOT POINTS FOR STIMULATING DECISIVE RISK GOVERNANCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.

CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE PHILIPPINES WILL CONTINUE TO ACCELERATE. HISTORICALLY, THE PHILIPPINES HAS OBSERVED AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE INCREASE OF ABOUT 0.1 CENTIGRADE PER DECADE. PROJECTIONS BY THE ICC ARE FOR THE PHILIPPINES TO CONTINUE THE INCREASE TOWARDS ABOUT 2 DEGREES CENTIGRADE BY THE END OF THE 21ST CENTURY.

THE PH CLIMATE EXTREMES REPORT IS A REPORT FOR EVERYONE OF YOU WHO ARE NOT AWARE, PUBLISHED BY PAG-ASA AND MY FORMER INSTITUTION, MANILA OBSERVATORY IN 2020 SHOW A GENERALLY SPATIALLY UNIFORMED WARMING TREND. SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO WARM, BUT THAT WARMING WILL BE INCREASING. THERE IS ALSO A GENERAL DRYING TREND WITH THE DRYING ALSO TO BE INCREASING. THERE ARE HOWEVER, EXTREME RAINFALL WET SPOTS IN THIS MODELING, AND THIS IS WHERE WE REWIRE OUR LOCALIZED ANALYSIS OF THE CHANGES. THE GRANULARITY OF THE ANALYSIS NEEDS TO BE MATCHED WITH THE DECISION-LEVEL THAT IS BEING MADE AT THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT, AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL, AND AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL.

THIS REQUIRES THAT WE INVEST IN SCIENCE TO DOWNSCALE CLIMATE DATA AND TO PINPOINT WHERE AND HOW THESE LOCAL VARIATIONS DEVELOP TO INFORM LOCAL ADAPTATION AND RISK REDUCTION STRATEGIES IN A DYNAMIC WAY. AS WITH OTHER DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, THE PHILIPPINES FACES SUBSTANTIAL CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING ADAPTATION AND RISK-REDUCTION STRATEGIES, STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY AND ECOSYSTEM RESILIENCE, AND TRANSITIONING TO GREEN GROWTH PATHWAYS.

IN OUR NATIONAL * CONTRIBUTIONS, WE HAVE COMMITTED TO AVOID AND REUSE 75% OF OUR PROJECTED GHG EMISSIONS. HOWEVER, THE PLAN TO OPERATIONALIZE NDC POLICIES AND MEASURES, AND THEIR CORRESPONDING FINANCING AND TECHNOLOGICAL CAPACITY NEEDS TO STILL BE COMPLETED. AS PROOF OF THE PRESIDENT’S COMMITMENT TO CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION, HE HAS APPOINTED THE DENR, MYSELF INCLUDED, AS THE CHAIR OF THE CCC TO ACCELERATE AND COMPLETE THE WORK THAT HAS LONG BEEN OUTSTANDING, INCLUDING THE NATIONAL GHG INVENTORY, NATIONAL ADAPTATION PLAN, THE NDC OPERATIONAL STATION, THE LOCAL CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION PLANS WHICH ARE SO CRUCIAL TO OUR LOCAL RISK GOVERNANCE.

THE DENR IS AT THE FRONTLINE OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE SOLUTIONS BECAUSE OF OUR MANDATE ON CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND RESPONSIBLE USE OF NATURAL RESOURCES. THAT’S WHY WE EMPLOYED NOW INTEGRATED APPROACHES THAT CONSIDER TRANSBOUNDARY CONCERNS AS ECOSYSTEMS KNOW NO POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE BOUNDERING.

THE PRIVATE SECTOR’S ROLE IS VERY CRUCIAL AS THE COUNTRY’S MAIN ENGINE ON ECONOMIC GROWTH AND TRANSFORMATION. WE RECOGNIZE THEM AS WE WILL LEVERAGE PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENTS IN GREEN TECHNOLOGIES AND CIRCULAR BUSINESS MODELS THAT CREATE SPATIALLY GREEN JOBS. THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR BOTH STAKEHOLDER CO-DESIGN, CO-IMPLEMENTATION THROUGH THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE ALIGNED AND *RAPPORTING IN SUCH INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS AS A DASH COURSE ON CLIMATE-RELATED FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES AND NATURE-RELATED FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES, AND OUR INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS ON BIODIVERSITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE.
WE WILL CONTINUE THE INTEGRATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE RISK MANAGEMENT INTO CORE BUSINESS CYCLES, AND NOT JUST INTO CSR ACTIVITIES.

ALLOW ME TO SHARE, IN CLOSING, SOME OF OUR PRIORITIES FOR WE MAY FIND COMMON ENTRY POINTS FOR COLLABORATION.

THE FIRST WOULD BE NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS. AS A CORE STRATEGY IN FOREST CONSERVATION WHERE THERE’S A STRONG LEAD TO ENHANCE FOREST COVER, PROVIDE WATER SECURITY AND RESILIENCE TO ENSURE WATER QUALITY AND SUPPLY. THERE IS RENEWED INTEREST IN THE PASIG RIVER, WE’D HAD A LONG HISTORY WITH DENMARK PARTICULARLY AT THE PASIG RIVER REHABILITATION PROGRAM AND HOW WE MAY BE ABLE TO ENHANCE THESE.

WE ALSO WOULD ALSO LIKE WITH YOU TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE NET-ZERO TARGETS BY 2050 BY ACCELERATING DECARBONIZATION OF OUR INDUSTRIES. IN THE PRIORITY SECTOR OF ENERGY, MANUFACTURING AND SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT USE AND CONSUMPTION, WASTE AS WELL AS TRANSPORT.

ON ENERGY, WE ARE REVIEWING ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE, PROCESSES ON ALL ON-SHORE AND OFF-SHORE SOLAR, WIND AND POWER. THIS IS TO FACILITATE MORE CAPITAL INVESTMENTS IN THE RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR, BUT ALSO TO BRING US UP TO SPEED IN TERMS OF GLOBAL STANDARD OF COMPETITIVENESS IN THIS REGARD.
ON SOLID WASTE, WE ARE CONDUCTING A SURVEY OF ALL TECHNOLOGIES ON WASTE-TO-FUEL, WASTE-TO-ENERGY TO ADDRESS THE GROWING SOLID WASTE PROBLEM, AS WELL AS THE NEED FOR US TO TRANSITION TOWARDS A CIRCULAR ECONOMY. WE RECENTLY APPROVED THE IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY ACT OF 2022 WHICH REQUIRES BUSINESSES TO ESTABLISH MECHANISMS FOR THE RECOVERY OF ALL THEIR PACKAGING, PARTICULARLY PLASTICS, AND RELIEVE OUR LANDFILL SITUATION IN MANY OF OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.

ON TRANSPORTS, WE ARE FOCUSING ON SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY AND ON THE SHIPPING SECTOR IN PARTICULAR. LOOKING AT THE TRANSITION TOWARDS ALTERNATIVE FUEL SOURCES LIKE HYDROGEN AND AMMONIA, AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE PHILIPPINES AS WE ARE THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF PROFESSIONAL SEAFARERS ALL OVER THE WORLD. THERE MUST BE A JUST TRANSITION HERE, WE NEED TO LOOK AT UPSCALING, RESKILLING, AND EDUCATION IN ORDER FOR US TO MAINTAIN OUR POSITION GLOBALLY AND TO BE COMPETITIVE IN THE NEW GREEN ECONOMY.

MINING AND RESPONSIBLE MINING. THIS HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS A CONTRIBUTOR TO ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND I’M VERY GLAD TO SEE USEC MAGNO* HERE. THERE’S A NEED TO REVITALIZE THE INDUSTRY, AND STEER IT TOWARDS A SAFE AND SUSTAINABLE FUTURE PRACTICING WHAT WE CALL THE MITIGATION HIERARCHY. THE DENR BELIEVES THAT A RESILIENT MINING INDUSTRY COULD BE AN EFFECTIVE VEHICLE FOR SUPPORTING THE IMPROVEMENT AND OUR PEOPLE’S QUALITY OF LIFE THROUGH CAPITAL FORMATION AND WEALTH CREATION, BUT IT MUST INVEST SIMULTANEOUSLY IN OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION AND DISASTER RISK REDUCTION. MINING INDUSTRY IS IN A UNIQUE POSITION TO ADVANCE MULTIPLE PATHWAYS TOWARDS INCLUSIVE, RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.

LASTLY ON URBAN RESILIENCE, WE ARE LOOKING VERY CLOSELY AT THE METABOLISM OF OUR CITIES IN THE URBANIZATION TRENDS WE ARE NOW SEEING IN OUR COUNTRY, AND HOW THESE SHOULD BE MADE PART AND PARCEL* OF REGIONAL PLANNING EFFORTS AND NOT JUST URBAN PLANNING EFFORTS, AND CONSIDER THE TRANSECTS BETWEEN THE NATURAL, RURAL, AND URBAN ENVIRONMENTS.

LASTLY BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE PRIORITIZE THE OPPORTUNITIES IDENTIFIED IN THE PHILIPPINE DEVELOPMENT PLAN THAT HAS JUST RECENTLY BEEN LAUNCHED, INCLUDING THE CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT ON SUSTAINABILITY, ESG REPORTING, CONDUCT OF CARRYING CAPACITY ASSESSMENTS, DEVELOPING BIODIVERSITY FRIENDLY ENTERPRISES AND ECOTOURISM SITES, OUR INVESTMENTS IN FORESTRY, REED-BASED INDUSTRIES AND ENTERPRISES MUST FEATURE AN INTEGRATION BETWEEN SUSTAINABLE LAND AND COASTAL AND MARINE PLANNING.

MAY I JUST CLOSE WITH ONE MESSAGE, OVERALL IN TERMS OF ALL OUR EFFORTS TODAY AND WITH ALL OUR PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS, EVERY FRACTION OF A DEGREE COUNTS. AND SO WE MUST ALL WORK TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE WHAT WE MUST ENVISION AS OUR COMMON GOAL FOR A SAFE AND SUSTAINABLE PLANET. ###