 |
ADAPTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE, MITIGATING GLOBAL WARMING
by Heherson T. Alvarez
Manila Bulletin
June 22, 2007
(Speech delivered at the Earth Day: Cultural Eco-Arts vs Climate Change at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Roxas Blvd., April 18, 2007.)
In 2006, the Philippines was devastated by three so-called "super typhoons"-Milenyo, Reming and Senyang. There were also massive floodings and mudslides in the provinces of Quezon, Leyte and Surigao. Countless lives and millions in property and livelihood were lost.
Local scientists noted that it was some 40 years ago since the Philippines was last visited by such super-typhoons, classified as such for having maximum winds of more than 200 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center as compared to regular typhoons that have only 117 kph or more of wind power.
This drastic change in climate patterns is felt not only in the Philippines but all over the world, where lack of rainfall has brought drought and famine in some parts, while excessive rainfall causes killer floods in others.
These natural disasters all but confirm what scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – that a phenomenon called climate change, characterized by changes is global weather patterns, the melting of the polar caps, and the rising level of the sea, will happen in the next 100 years or so.
But little did the IPCC know that their 100-year prediction contained in their First IPCC Assessment Report completed in 1990, was in fact already happening right here, right now, or only 15 years after the first report.
The Geneva-based IPCC is a group of about 200 scientists, formed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1988.
They meet in plenary session once a year to assess on a comprehensive, objective, open and transparent basis the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation.
I. The Manila Declaration
With the eminent danger of global warming threatening the world, we invited the IPCC and other policy makers here before, as Senator, I convened the First Asia Pacific Leaders Conference on Climate Change (ASPAC-LCCC) in Manila in February 1995.
The conference was participated in by 33 Asia-Pacific nations – 44 parliamentarians, 18 scientists, 40 local government executives, 8 international agencies, 5 international environmental NGOs and 30 other foreign participants – through the auspices of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP).
It was addressed by then Pakistan Prime Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Vanuatu Prime Minister Maxime Carlot-Korman, with keynote address by President Fidel Ramos.
A product of the ASPAC-LCC was the Manila Declaration, which was unanimously approved by the body as the official position on global warming by the Asia-Pacific leaders to the Conference of Parties I (COP-1) in Berlin, Germany in March 1995.
COP-1 was held to review the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change of 1992 in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, or known simply as "Rio Convention." As head of the Philippine delegation to Berlin, I presented the Manila Declaration there.
A. The 1995 ASPACC-LCCC's findings were:
1. Projected warming in the Philippines and Coastal South Asia ranges from 0.1 to 0.5 degrees Celsius for 2010 and 0.4 to 3.0 degrees Celsius in 2070;
2. Increase in rainfall in South Asia is projected from 11 to 59 percent.
3. Sea level rise in the Asia-Pacific region ranging from 15 to 90 centimeters by 2070.
4. Small island nations like the Philippines are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and sea level rise, with added impact on agriculture, biological diversity, peoples and cultures, so that they must be given special status because of the imminent threat of climate change.
B. The 1995 Manila Declaration called for:
1. Developed countries are primarily responsible for the increased concentration of greenhouse gases and must take lead in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20% of 1990 levels by the year 2005.
2. Local governments must establish policies and programs to respond to climate change, especially in decisions concerning power projects, waste management and land use. Governments must have National Climate Action Plans, as well as Regional Action Plans.
3. Developed and developing countries should undertake public-private partnership with regional and international scientific organizations on: climate change; sea level rise; coastal zone management; renewable energy; and environmentally-sound technology options.
4. Increase the use of greenhouse gases-benign technologies, with commitment to use renewable energy technology and energy efficiency, as well as allow access for investment funding for renewable systems.
The conclusions of the COP-1-which we called the "Kyoto Basket," were submitted by the Philippine delegation, which I also led, to the COP-3, in Kyoto, Japan in December 1997, which became part of the basis for the deliberations of the Kyoto Protocol.
The Washington-based Climate Institute called the Philippine-led Kyoto Basket, entitled "Climate Stabilization Strategies," as "a smorgasbord of menu of volunteer green energy initiatives" which "drew considerable interest among developing country delegates and parliamentarians from both North and South… It builds on the proposal of the 1995 Manila Declaration…"
II. The Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol aims to reduce the greenhouse gases (GHG)-carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and perfluorocarbons (PFCs)-to a level that does not cause human harm. Developed countries must ensure that greenhouse gas emissions do not exceed the specified amounts.
Studies have shown that developed countries emit the most greenhouse gases. The Kyoto Protocol responds to this by giving the developed countries the greatest responsibility. This means that the countries emitting the most will have to reduce most.
The Protocol has provided each country with their own target levels. These levels range from 8% reductions for the European Union (EU), 7% reductions for the United States, 6% for Japan, and 0% for Russia and New Zealand, to permitted increases of 8% for Australia and 10% for Iceland.
While the Asia-Pacific leaders lobbied for a 20% reduction to 1990 levels of greenhouse gas emissions by 2005, the Kyoto Protocol approved only a 5% average reduction below the 1990 levels between 2008 to 2012.
The US, which refuses to ratify the Koyoto Protocol and abide by its timetables, has increased its GHG emissions by 16% since 1990, while the United Kingdom increased emissions by 2%. The global share of carbon dioxide emissions is 40% from the US and 30% from the European Union.
III. Vulnerability of the Philippines
A. Rise in Sea Levels
Global sea levels have risen so dramatically in the past 16 years that they are meeting the worst-case scenarios, raising concerns that science is underestimating impact of climate change.
Scientists predicted an 88-centimeter rise in sea level between 1990 and 2100. Since 1973, sea levels have already risen almost 9 centimeters.
This is largely brought about by the warming of the ocean and thermal expansion, plus the melting of non-polar glaciers and ice caps.
Early IPCC reports predicted that by 2100, sea levels will rise between 5 and 23 inches. Far lower than the 20 to 55 inches 2100 forecast study published in the journal "Science" in January 1, 2007 on the 4th IPCC Report, its most recent findings.
Other new projection on the rise in sea level are: by 2090 from 0.18 meters to 0.59 meters (7 inches to 18 inches), and by 2300 from 0.3 meters to 0.8 meters (12 inches to 31 inches).
If predictions by global scientists of the catastrophic rise in sea levels floods are to be believed, then the Philippines, being an archipelago and an island-nation, could lose about 6,000 of the country’s 7,100 islands to the sea.
B. Climate Zones & Species Extinction
By 2100, scientists also predict that rising temperatures will force existing climate zones towards higher latitudes and higher elevations, according to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
This means that warmer areas will get warmer and cold areas also get warmer, and so these climates will disappear. These "disappearing" climate zones cover as mush as 48% of the world’s land surface area.
The threat is greatest in rich areas of animal and plant life in regions such as the Himalayas, the Philippines, African and South American mountain ranges, threatening some species with extinction and also displace local human populations.
The disappearance of climate zones will allow also the formation of "new or novel climates" that will affect the tropics or sub-tropics such as Amazonian and Indonesian rainforests.
IV. Are We Prepared for Global Warming?
In the Senate and the House of Representatives, we led the crafting of mitigation legislation such as Republic Act 8749 or the Philippine Clean Air Act and Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, among other laws.
But these laws have not been adequately implemented. For instance, air monitoring stations to check on the quality of Metro Manila air as mandated by the Clean Air Act have not been put up. Controlled dumpsites and sanitary landfills called for by the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act have not been established and we continue to throw our garbage in esteros and open dumpsites.
President Arroyo recently created the Presidential Task Force on Climate Change (PTFCC) through Administrative Order 171, pulling all of government’s resources and experts to come up with a Master Plan to mitigate the impact of global warming in the country.
Although the Philippines is not considered a major emitter of greenhouse gasses, we can do our part through a two-pronged approach to combat global warming, through: (1) Mitigation, and (2) Adaptation.
A. Mitigation Measures
Three (3) of the most important mitigation measures we can pursue to confront climate change are: (1) The protection of our forests and the cultivation of new ones; (2) Shift to renewable energy sources; and (3) Information dissemination.
1. Forest Protection
As DENR Secretary in 2001, I refused to sign the automatic conversion of Timber Licensing Agreement No. 43 of Paper Industries Corporation of the Philippines (PICOP)-the country’s largest logging concession-into an Integrated Forest Management Agreement (IFMA).
TLA No. 43 covered 75,545 hectares of forestlands in parts of Mindanao. At that time, PICOP’s registration with the Securities and Exchange Comission (SEC) had expired. The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) likewise validated that TLA No. 43 overlapped ancestral lands of the Manobos and refused to grant PICOP the necessary clearances. The firm also owed government P167,592,440 in unpaid forest charges as of August 2002.
The Supreme Court sided with my decision and upheld it in its 58-paged ruling dated November 29, 2006 penned by Justice Minita Chico-Nazario, which only confirmed the need to uphold the rules for environmental conservation and security as mandated by the Constitution.
The SC decision stated that those who are "fortunate to have been awarded an enormous concession area and thus, a huge chunk of the benefits of this country’s natural resources" have the "responsibility to comply with the laws and regulations implementing the stated legislative policies of environmental preservation and benefit distribution. These laws and regulations should not be ignored…"
The Supreme Court further stated that "the courts should not condone such blatant disregard by those who believe they are above the law because of their sizable investments and significant number of workers employed. PICOP has only itself to blame for the withholding of the conversion of its TLA… The judicial policy of nurturing prosperity would be better served by granting such concessions to someone who will abide by the law."
2. Renewable Energy
In 1993, the country was suffering from perennial power outages. It crippled businesses and left our homes in the dark. So I authored Republic Act 7638, the law creating the Department of Energy (DoE), which liberalized the energy sector and was the instrument used by Ramos administration to address the crippling energy problem then.
But perhaps the most important provisions in that law was a mandate to shift our dependence from fossil fuels — coal and crude oil — as energy sources.
It mandated the DoE to look for alternative sources of energy such as solar, wind, geothermal and the use of bio-fuels such as bio-diesel and unleaded gasoline.
3. Information Campaign
a. ‘Cultural Eco-Arts Communication’ vs Climate Change
In the annual celebration of Earth Day during April 22, and Environment Day on June 5, the NCCA and other attached agencies organize fora and conduct media info campaign on the catastrophic impact of global warming and link our country and institutions to adapt and mitigate the phenomena.
And this April 18, in observance of Earth Day 2007, we organized a "cultural eco-arts communication" to confront climate change through a multi-sectoral private-public roundtable discussion and workshop to model a comprehensive creative communication and community-centered education program on climate change adaptation.
The whole-day event at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Pasay City hopes to educate our people on the dangers of global warming, which will also feature an exhibit and cultural/artistic performances, with the cooperation of the UNESCO Philippines Commission headed by Ambassador Preciosa Soliven, Climate Institute, and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
They are joined by the Departments of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Education (DepEd), Energy (DoE), Science and Technology (DoST), Agriculture (DA), Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
The National Museum, Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), Ateneo Observatory-Klima Climate Center, Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino (KWF), Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), Institute of Komiks Arts and Sciences, and the Asia Pacific Environmental Concerns Foundation (APEC).
In the same event, the EarthSavers Movement, UNESCO-ITI, Climate Institute and the NCCA is presenting the annual Fr. Neri Satur Award for Environmental Heroism to five recipients this year.
They are: Archbishop Francisco Claver for championing the rights, habitat, history and heritage of indigenous peoples; Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) for its models of environmental practices; Philippine Daily Inquirer journalist Jerry Esplanada and Philippine Star journalist Katherine Adradena for their incisive reportage on environmental issues; and eco-artist Lou Bonnevie for reaching our to the youth by organizing the annual Earth Day Jam concerts.
b. "An Inconvenient Truth" in Filipino
Perhaps the most important tool against global warming is public information and total awareness of the issue of global warming and climate change.
By bringing the issue into movie houses frequented by the general public, by taking the matter into everybody’s living room, we hope to imbibe mitigation and adaptation efforts into the consciousness of every citizen, making it part of the Filipino psyche.
When former US Vice President Al Gore surprised the world by winning an Oscar during the 79th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood for producing and hosting "An Inconvenient Truth"-a documentary about global warming and climate change-only then did most of us, especially the youth, took notice.
Now, we have plans to translate "An Inconvenient Truth" in at least ten major Philippine dialects to allow the urgent call for global warming mitigation to reach more Filipinos.
We have asked Mr. Gore to allow the translation under the auspices of the EarthSavers Movement, with the support of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
The EarthSavers Movement is a group I formed in 1990 which is in the forefront of an educational campaign advocating environmental causes, including global warming and climate change.
Last January, the movie was shown for free to students and teachers in five special screenings in SM Malls in Manila.
B. Adaptation
The EarthSavers Movement is pursuing adaptation action plan for Filipinos, especially the youth.
1. Individual Adaptation:
* Consume less. Share more. Live simply.
* Recycle paper. No plastic bags, utensils & extra packaging.
* Use compact fluorescent. Turn off lights & computers at quitting time.
* Open window, not electric fan or air conditioner.
* Exercise in early morning or evening, indoors or in a park.
* Walk. Bike. Ride the bus or rail transits, or together in a car.
* Check tires. Tune-up engines. Replace clogged filter. Use biofuel.
* Plant a tree or bamboo fence. Grow a garden or potted flowers with compost
* Get out of city or reside in areas with winds blowing off Pacific Ocean or Philippine internal seas.
2. Institutional Adaptation:
* Lobby for policy on "Low Carbon & Protected Economy at Low Cost"
* Stop building on coastal land less than a meter above high tide
* Use renewable energy for power, and fuels for transport
* Enforce energy efficient standards: power plants, factories, public facilities, transport fleets, & consumer energy appliances.
"This is our home; we must care for it, watch over it, protect it and love it. We must be particularly careful to protect what remains of our forests, rivers, and corals and to heal, wherever we can, the damage which has already been done."
(The author is currently the Presidential Adviser on Agrarian Reform. He is a former Senator and Environment Secretary and founding chairman of the EarthSavers Movement. He chaired the Senate Committee on Environment for 10 years. He sits as Vice President for Southeast Asia of the London-based Advisory Committee on the Protection of the Seas (ACOPS) and a founding member of the Global Legislators for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE) together with former US Vice President Al Gore. In 1996, he received the prestigious International Public Policy Achievement Award from the Washington-based Climate Institute for his role in the first Asian Conference in Climate Change. He is the first and last Asian recipient of the award.)
|
|
|
