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PGMA's Speech during the closing session of the High-level Dialogue on Climate Change in Asia and the Pacific: Developmental Challenge |
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Asian Development Bank Headquarters, Mandaluyong City |
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17 June 2009 |
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Thank you very much Secretary Atienza. Thank you very much President Kuroda. I’d like to congratulate also Director General Pachauri for the event, for this conference that you have just concluded. Former Prime Minister of Korea -- how very nice to have you here -- and also I’d like to greet ADB Vice President Ursula Preuss, thank you. And we have together with us not only Secretary Atienza on the platform but also our Presidential Adviser for Climate Change Sonny Alvarez. I’m very glad that you have had this conference because we must not lose sight of the challenges we were already addressing before the onset of the global economic crisis. Climate change ranks high on the list of challenges that must not be forgotten in a rush to fix a world economy in crisis. The challenge of climate change, and the devastating permanent impact it will have on economies around the world, will still be with us long after the global economy returns to health. Indeed, we are all here today because climate change is here. Weather patterns are changing. Human activity has caused climate change. Fossil fuels. Land use. Solid waste. Climate change is already impacting adversely on many of the world’s peoples. It will have catastrophic effects if we don’t take immediate and sufficient action to curb the industrial emissions and the forest loss that have been clearly identified as among its major causes. Though the Philippines produces only one-third of one percent of the global Green House gases, much lower in per capita income than those of industrialized nations; and we are not a climate maker, we are a climate taker. And that is our very special reason for being involved in climate change mitigation and adaptation. We suffer as much or even more than climate makers because we are an archipelago. From rising tides, to changing weather, to deforestation and pollution of air, sea and land, the challenges of climate change to us are great. As a nation made up of over 7,000 islands, rising seas due to global warming take on a whole new meaning. Florida may lose some coastline, we lose a nation. Our response to this grave challenge may sound humorous, but our intent is deadly serious and we must all work together to solve this problem. If we do, we in Asia and the Pacific and the world for that matter, hopefully, it will be one of the great achievements in our history. Every nation, developed or developing, must assume the mantle of leadership and work to address the challenge of climate change, but not only every nation every person as well. Each and every person bears some responsibility for what we have done today and throughout history to diminish our environment. Obviously, some are more responsible than others; and some are more responsible today than yesterday. But all that apportionment of blame does nothing against a rising tide of global warming that will swamp our nation and many parts of our region and our world if we do not act with decisiveness and solidarity. We have a Green Philippines Agenda and it covers not only the work of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources but the work of other department as well especially the Department of Energy. Our Green Philippines Agenda puts an emphasis on a sustainable economic model that brings economic opportunity and a concern for our environment. It is devoted to a sustainable economic model that allows for growth, job creation and environmental stewardship. Too many nations, developed and developing, used to believe -- and I hope they don’t anymore -- that the environment must be sacrificed at the altar of growth. We firmly believe otherwise. And because we are only doing our take off now, we have a unique opportunity to get it right from day one: to introduce new industries that are clean and profitable. This ranges from furniture made with environmental friendly practices and materials, to eco-tourism, to developing a biofuels industry that helps our energy independence, creates jobs and keeps our nation clean for future generations but not at the expense of food supplies. Our Green Philippines includes reducing reliance on fossil fuels with our biofuels, wind and solar efforts and geothermal programs, and other renewable energy programs. It is good for our economy and good for the health and wellbeing of our people to have a strong economy and a clean environment. I have two Cabinet members here with me today because as I said, mitigating and adapting to climate change are not just the work of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Not even our whole Green Energy Program is just under one department, because biofuels, renewable energy are under our Department of Energy. So much more so many other aspects of climate change that is why I have created a Presidential Task Force on Climate Change and the chair of the task force is no other than myself. And the work that has to be done day-to-day to carry out the provisions in the Executive Order that I wrote and signed on the Presidential Task Force on Climate Change is done or is overseen to make sure that it’s complied with by our Presidential Adviser on Climate Change. There are 17 task groups under these Presidential Task Force and 11 of them are headed by Cabinet members. Every Friday, Secretary Atienza, Secretary Alvarez and I spend about five hours together with different groups because among other things that he has to do to mitigate and adapt to climate change, Secretary Atienza is also chair of the Task Group on Solid Waste Management. And every Friday we go around the country to make sure that all our local governments know about the Solid Waste Management Act and their obligations under that Act, and we look to see how they’re doing, and we look to see where we can work together. We’ve been doing this for the last… almost six months now and soon -- oh, after we’ve started because we have had so many local governments already aware of their obligations -- we are adding to our agenda for Fridays also discussions on the obligations of the community towards reforestation and mangrove rehabilitation and other similar activities. Together with the Asian Development Bank -- and President Kuroda has already mentioned this in his remarks -- we have a program to replace and phase out incandescent bulbs and replace them with compact fluorescent bulbs. The logic is simple. An incandescent bulb consumes five times more energy than CFL that produces the same amount of illumination. For instance, a 60- watt bulb could be replaced by a 12-watt CFL. This saves close to 50 watts without losing illumination. If we replace one million incandescent bulbs with one million CFLs, we will have obviated the need to set up a 50-megawatt power plant which would cost us at least 50 million dollars to put up. So, in accordance with the program that was mentioned by President Kuroda, by August we will distribute five million free CFLs in Metro Manila, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Davao cities. This is only the first tranche because the entire program calls for the distribution of 13 million free compact CFLs. This was funded to the tune of 500 million pesos out of our Value Added Tax proceeds. I released this to the Department of Energy which is the partner, maybe I would say the primary partner of the Department of Environment in adapting to and mitigating climate change. And this fund in turn… this is our contribution to the joint ADB-DOE project, which in turn, provided a 31.1 million dollars concessional loan with 50 percent Clean Development Mechanism paid in advance. I have seen many examples of the Clean Development Mechanism work in our country. This CDM under the Kyoto Protocol has allowed developing countries like the Philippines to voluntarily reduce our Green House gas emissions through private sector initiatives. But as we all know, as you all know, is set to expire by 2012. And as we have heard from our speakers earlier an ambitious comprehensive agreement, negotiated within the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and building on the Kyoto Protocol, must be achieved no later than this year in Copenhagen. And that is why your conference here is so important for us to work together towards a good outcome of that conference in Copenhagen and to work together towards a good implementation of the outcome of that conference. Indeed, there is need for greater levels of cooperation and financial support to promote not only mitigation but adaptation strategies, capacity development and technology transfer to avert the security implications of the various effects of climate change. But we must do it in a way that puts the interests of the poor and the dispossessed ahead of the rich and powerful. And that is why this is so important that nations in the Asia and in the Pacific should be here together to make sure of that particular characteristic of the outcome of whatever new agreement we will be able to come up with. If our country is to do its fair share, then the developed nations, with their historically muchgreater contribution to the onset of climate change, must help us take a less carbon intensive road to sustainable development, including through expanded carbon markets, investment, and technology transfer. As an international community those of you here who belong to the world that Asian Development Bank assists we must act together. And we must act with the rest of the world. And most important, we must act effectively and act now. That is why your meeting has been so important. Thank you once again for coming and more power to all of you! |
