Climate change agenda needs grassroot inputs

The government wants the grassroot community to get involved in drafting the national framework strategy that will help the country respond to adverse effects of climate change.

The departments of Environment and National Resources, Agriculture and Agrarian Reform will join forces in conducting island-wide and national multi-sectoral consultations, which will help create the national framework.

“We are providing a venue for stakeholders even in the grassroots to actively participate in the crafting of the national framework strategy,” said Agriculture Undersecretary Segfredo Serrano.

Serrano added that the unified efforts of the three government agencies will aid the Climate Change Commission (CCC) in formulating a medium-term plan and a policy framework in addressing climate change.

Consultations will commence in Visayas on March 29 and 30, in Luzon on April 5 and 6, and in Mindanao on April 7 and 8. The meeting with nationwide multi-sectoral groups will take place on April 11 and 12.

The output is expected to be turned over to the commission, which is directly under the Office of the President, by April 16.

The International Monetary Fund recently said the country might lose more than 6 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) each year, more than double the global average loss, because of climate change.

GDP is the total value of goods and services produced in a country in a year.

Earlier, the Agriculture department reported that the total damage to the farm and fishery sectors caused by the lingering effects of the El Niño weather phenomenon stood at P8.4 billion. Rice and corn accounted for more than half of the damage, while fish and high-value commercial crops made up the remaining amount.

Last year, President Gloria Arroyo signed into law the Philippine Climate Change Act of 2009 that would institutionalize the country’s response to climate change.

Republic Act 9729 also created the CCC, which is tasked to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the government’s programs and actions to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change.

Meanwhile, an official of a water concessionaire said the government needs to amend its water and power regulations to take into account the effects of climate change.

At the general membership meeting of the Management Association of the Philippines on Tuesday, Jose Rene Almendras, Manila Water Co. Inc. president, said that regulators need to change the “rule curve” protocol on releasing water from the Angat dam, Metro Manila’s primary source of drinking water.

Manila Water is the east zone concessionaire of state-run Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System in Metro Manila and its outlying provinces. Maynilad Water Services Inc., on the other hand, services the other half of the concession.

The utilities’ draw more than 90 percent of their water supply from the Angat dam in Bulacan. The facility, however, also supplies water for irrigating farmlands and generating electricity.

Present protocol prioritizes water released from the dam for drinking water supply over irrigation and power generation. The volume of water released takes into account projected monthly weather patterns, which do not factor in abnormal conditions such as those allegedly caused by climate change.

The two utilities’ proposal, on the other hand, would peg certain zones where water could only be drawn for Angat’s other roles whenever water supply is above these levels.

“If we shift to this mechanism it will allow us to anticipate and act when we foresee a possible weather change so that answers the question,” Almendras said.

Federico Lopez, First Gen Corp. president and chief executive officer, said that power reserve requirements should be increased to take into account the country’s growing reliance of renewable energy sources.

First Gen is the Lopez Group’s power generation arm. The bulk of the company’s assets are from renewable energy sources such as geothermal and hydroelectric power plants.

At present, the Department of Energy requires between 21.1 percent and 23.4 percent back-up power generating capacity to shoulder any electricity shortfall whenever a power plant goes down, either planned or unplanned.

Lopez said that the government should instead adopt the 32.8-percent reserve procurement plan of the Energy Regulatory Commission to offset the unreliable supply coming from renewable energy sources.

The government is targeting to hike renewable energy sources’ share in power generation from 4,500 megawatts to 9,000 megawatts over a period of 10 years. –KRISTA ANGELA M. MONTEALEGRE and EUAN PAULO C. AÑONUEVO Reporters, Manila Times