RP duty-bound to address Climate Change – PGMA
November 24, 2009 2:41 am
MANILA, Nov. 23 —- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Monday declared that the Philippines is duty-bound to take immediate steps to address the threat of extreme changes occurring in the world’s temperature, the melting of ice in the polar regions, the rise of sea levels and their critical impact on agricultural productivity.
This is the message of President Arroyo during the observance of the “Global Warming and Climate Change Consciousness Week” from Nov. 19-25 as declared through Proclamation 1667.
The President also stressed that the country is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, which mandates measures for the reduction of carbon emissions in the atmosphere to avert catastrophes in the planet’s environment and climate after scientists identified the increasing quantity of greenhouse gases as the main cause of global warming that is triggering climate change.
Despite being "carbon takers and not carbon maker", the country still needs to undertake programs to reduce emissions or carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that causes global warming and climate change.
President Arroyo also directed Presidential Adviser on Global Warming and Climate Change to formulate "strategies and policies that would mitigate the harmful effects of global warming and climate change in coordination with other government agencies and non-governmental organizations."
The week-long event is organized by the Presidential Task Force on Climate Change chaired by President Arroyo and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Global Warming and Climate Change headed by Secretary Alvarez.
The Chief Executive created OPACC and PTFCC precisely to spearhead activities that would put into action the commitment to the goals of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Secretary Alvarez is the country’s chief climate change negotiator to the UNFCCC negotiations which has been meeting monthly to draft new climate change treaty that will succeed the Kyoto Protocol when it expires by 2012.
The new treaty will be voted upon by world leaders in Copenhagen on December during the 15th Conference of Parties (COP-15) wherein President Arroyo is expected to head the Philippine delegation.(PNA)
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