12 July 2018 – The Philippines reaffirmed its leadership on climate action as Secretary Emmanuel M. De Guzman of the Climate Change Commission (CCC) highlighted the country’s initiatives on climate change during the Special ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Climate Action (SAMCA) last 10 July at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Center in Singapore.
Secretary De Guzman underscored the concept of ‘climate justice’ in the Philippines’ efforts to ensure that the most vulnerable, who suffer the most from the adverse effects of climate change, and who have contributed the least to the climate crisis are empowered and enabled.
“To this end, we have adopted a people-centered sustainable development approach that ensures no one is left behind,” Secretary De Guzman said during his intervention at the SAMCA.
Prior to the SAMCA, Secretary De Guzman also attended the Climate & Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) Ministerial Roundtable Discussion on 09 July 2018 at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel co-hosted by CCAC and New Zealand.
In the presence of other countries, such as Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Fiji, Japan, Laos, Poland and Vietnam, as well Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat, Secretary De Guzman noted the country’s inclusion of the reduction of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCP) in the Philippines’ multi-stakeholder national planning process.
This National Action Plan for SLCP was made an integral part of the Philippines’ national climate change data architecture and MRV (Measurement, Reporting and Validation) system in pursuit of the country’s commitment to the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement.
The SAMCA and the E-SAMCA (or Expanded SAMCA to include Plus Three partners – China, Japan and South Korea) was an initiative of Singapore in line with its ASEAN Chairmanship this year.
It also served as a platform for Singapore to submit a summary of the discussions during the meetings for submission to the UNFCCC as ASEAN’s inputs to the Talanoa Dialogue, which will be taken up during the 2018 UN Climate Change Conference or COP-24 at Katowice, Poland this December.