‘Climatic change’ for Loren

The Senate has approved the bicameral committee report of a consolidated version of the various bills on a proposed law that would focus on the formulation of policies and set a national agenda on all matters concerning and related to climate change. The proposed Climate Change Act of 2009 also seeks to create a Climate Change Commission, could be one of the landmark legislations that the 14th Congress will be able to produce.

Thanks to single-minded, laser-focused determination by Sen. Loren Legarda who chairs the Senate Standing and Oversight Committees on Climate Change, the Conference Committee Report on the Disagreeing Provisions of Senate Bill No. 2583 and House Bill No. 5982 was ratified by the Senate last Aug. 25.

“This recent progress in our legislature only goes to show that we take the issue of climate change very seriously,” said Loren who is also the United Nations’ (UN) Regional “Champion” on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation.

A presidential veto is a remote possibility on this particular non-controversial proposed law. In fact, the Climate Change Act is so non-controversial that only a few headstrong advocates like Loren really put their heart and mind into its legislation. It should not be a long wait anymore to see its enactment.

“I have dreamt of this — for a Climate Change Act in the country. Now it is becoming a reality,” Loren said. Once enacted, Loren said this would usher the integration of government policies and measures to address climate change into development planning and decision-making by the national leadership.

As provided for in the proposed legislation, the Climate Change Commission shall be placed under the Office the President (OP). The Commission shall be headed by no less than the President as the chairperson, with three commissioners. The Commission shall have an advisory body composed of practically all the Executive departments, especially the Department of National Defense. This is because the Defense secretary also acts as chairman of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC).

It shall likewise constitute a panel of technical advisers tasked to provide support to the Commission in climate science, technologies, and best practices for risk assessment and enhancement of adaptive capacity of vulnerable human settlements. The Commission is mandated to formulate Framework Strategy on Climate Change to serve as the basis for a program for climate change planning, research and development, extension, and monitoring of activities to protect vulnerable communities. The local government units shall be the frontline agencies in the formulation, planning and implementation of climate change action plans in their respective areas.

Hopefully, the Lower House would be able to also ratify the bicam report before the Philippines hosts on Sept. 9 to 12 the International Conference on Green Industry in Asia. It is organized by UN agencies led by the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to tackle climate change, carbon emission, pollution, and other environmental issues.

The Philippines ranked 8th among countries in the world with the most number of casualties due to tropical cyclones and other major disasters last year, according to the 2008 General Assessment Report (GAR). The GAR report, the undertaking of which was aided by the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), was launched earlier this month in Manila.

UNISDR senior regional coordinator Jerry Velasquez earlier told The STAR the 2008 GAR Report was formally launched in Bahrain last May. This was subsequently launched in Indonesia, Thailand, Iran, Samoa and Japan, which are among the top ten countries that recorded the highest number of casualties due to natural calamities. China and Myanmar were the top two countries in the GAR last year due to the Sichuan earthquake and cyclone Nargis, respectively.

The GAR stated that disaster risk is not evenly distributed and that developing countries like the Philippines have a “highly disproportionate share of risk.” The GAR cited that Japan has approximately 2.5 million citizens exposed annually to tropical cyclones while the Philippines has 16 million. However, the estimated annual death toll from cyclones in the Philippines is almost 17 times greater than that of Japan.

Rather than be reactive, Loren underscores the crucial role of the Commission to come up with pro-active measures on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. She and Sen. Rodolfo Biazon co-authored a separate bill seeking to establish a permanent government agency to replace NDCC to be known as the Disaster Risk Management.

The launching of the GAR would trigger negotiations for bilateral and multilateral donations to assist the Philippines in improving its disaster prevention, response and mitigation measures. The international community has also been awaiting the Philippine ratification of the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response. The document was signed by the foreign ministers of the ten member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Laos in 2005.

While nine of the ten ASEAN member states have already ratified this agreement, the Philippines has yet to enter formally and bind the country to this particular ASEAN pact. The full ratification of the agreement by the entire ASEAN will automatically trigger the release of some $15-million worth of funding assistance from Japan. This is another pet bill that Loren — as the UNISDR-designated “champion” for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation — is pushing for approval by the Senate as the treaty-ratifying body.

Loren’s tasks at the UNISDR have brought about her own “climatic change” as far as her political future is concerned. This can be seen from her survey ratings that have been slipping as the May 2010 presidential elections draws near.

While her political fortunes are dangerously shifting away, Loren could be comforted by the fact that her advocacies for climate change would help preserve our country by addressing now, not later, the dangers of global warming, ozone depletion and other threats to Mother Nature for the benefit of the future of Filipino generations. –Marichu A. Villanueva (The Philippine Star)