PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has signed the Paris agreement on climate change despite earlier apprehensions regarding the pact.
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella, in a press conference, said the Office of the President will submit the signed “Instrument Accession” to the Senate for concurrence on Wednesday.
The “Instrument of Accession” is a document that provides the Philippines’ ratification of the Paris climate change deal.
In a February 28 letter addressed to the Senate, Duterte said he decided to sign the climate change pact and seek for its concurrence “after having seen and considered” its significance.
“I find it advisable to accede to the Paris agreement and seek the Senate concurrence thereto,” the President said.
In a statement, Climate Change Commissioner Emmanuel De Guzman welcomed the signing of the Paris agreement on climate change, which he said is a "top priority" of the government.
"I am overjoyed with the President’s ratification of the Paris Agreement. The Philippine delegation’s hard work to lobby the 1.5-degree climate goal during the Paris negotiations has finally paid off," De Guzman said.
"This is a clear articulation of his marching orders for the Climate Change Commission in the succeeding months," he added.
The climate pact aims to hold the increase in the global temperature to “well below” two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Duterte had initially said he will not honor the Paris deal because of its unclear provisions.
He, however, had changed his mind and said he has to study “very carefully” the implications of the Paris climate agreement before signing it.
De Guzman lauded Senator Loren Legarda, United Nations Global Champion for Resilience, "who has been passionate and constant in her commitment and advocacy to ratify the Paris Agreement."
De Guzman assured that the CCC would remain steadfast in pursuing efforts "in keeping with the principles manifested in the Paris agreement."
"Not only does this affirm the President’s pronouncement during his first SONA that climate change is a top priority of this administration, but also his advocacy of championing climate justice for the poorest of our poor," he said.
Renato Redentor Constantino, Executive Director of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, echoed the statement of De Guzman.
“We did not doubt President Duterte’s intention to act on climate change. By signing the Paris Agreement, his administration is asserting its leadership role in the UN climate negotiations."
Constantino added that the ball is now in the Senate's hands for the Paris climate pact to take effect.
"The baton has been passed to the Senate, which needs to shepherd the climate deal fast enough to give our country the platform it needs to lead Southeast Asia’s climate action agenda. As chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Philippines can push our region to partner with China and Japan to scale up investments towards a modern climate-sensitive regional economy,” he said. (VoxPop Philippines)
