President Aquino urged to heed UN climate report

Groups call to activate local adaptation fund

Press Release
April 4, 2014

MANILA, Philippines – Civil society groups said the Aquino government must improve its adaptation and mitigation efforts, not only in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda, but also given the dire warnings cited in the recent United Nations climate report on climate change.

At a press conference today, Aksyon Klima Pilipinas, Greenpeace and Oxfam expressed their grave concerns following the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s Working Group II Report on Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation, which released a grim climate forecast for Southeast Asia. The IPCC report was the consolidated work of thousands of scientists and affirmed by world governments.

The three civil society groups urged the Aquino government to take the first step by allocating funds for the People’s Survival Fund (PSF), which by law should finance the adaptation plans of local government units (LGUs). Adaptation plans include setting up early warning systems and contingency planning for extreme weather events such as droughts and floods.

The organizations emphasized that they continue to call on governments across the world, particularly developed countries, to honor their responsibility and commit to scale up their adaptation and mitigation actions. “But after Yolanda, we also need to adapt to the best of our own abilities and empower communities so they can be more climate-resilient,” the three groups stated.

“Beyond the PSF, both disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation should already be incorporated in the post-Yolanda rehabilitation plan, and then into longer-term national and local development plans and budgets,” according to Melvin Purzuelo, convenor of Aksyon Klima Pilipinas.

“The IPCC report however states that adaptation is not enough. We therefore need to integrate adaptation with mitigation strategies, such as transitioning to renewable energy systems,” said Amalie Obusan, regional climate and energy campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

On the PSF, Justin Morgan, Oxfam country director, added: “Congress must allocate at least P1 billion to the People’s Survival Fund as mandated by law. President Aquino must also sign the revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Climate Change Act to make the fund operational.”

“As a highly vulnerable country, extreme weather events are now our new normal, and we need to take concrete measures to literally survive,” the groups added.