The Chair of the United Nations Nobel Prize Awardee Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Korean economist Dr. Hoesung Lee, will be in the Philippines last week of May to keynote the Climate Change gathering dubbed as “Tripartite Conference on the Philippine Inclusive Roadmap for the Paris Accord”.
This was announced by former Senators Heherson T. Alvarez and Jose Lina, Jr., Co-Convenors of the Tripartite Conference that will involve civil society consultation with government and the international development community to determine action towards a sustainable low carbon economy that will define the Philippine Roadmap to the Paris Accord.
The IPCC was established in 1988 by the UN and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as the UN body that “provides policymakers with regular scientific assessments concerning climate change, its impacts and risks, as well as options for adaptation and mitigation strategies, for governments all over the world to develop climate related policies”.
Its last comprehensive report, the Fifth Assessment Report (ARS), written by thousands of leading scientists and experts in the scientific community and released in November 2014, provided the crucial inputs into the Paris Agreement on climate change adapted in December 2015.
According to Dr. Lee, a distinguished leader in the field of the economics of climate change, energy and sustainable development, “the world has the means to limit global warming and build a more prosperous and sustainable future, but pathways to limit warming to below 2⁰C relative to pre-industrial levels would require substantial emission reductions over the next few decades.”
Dr. Lee will be joined by UNISDR Champion for Disaster resilience Senator Loren Legarda to provide a national perspective of our vulnerability and essential response.
Alvarez, former Environment and Climate Secretary, now chair of the Advisory Board of the Climate Institute, and Lina, former local government Secretary, now President of an NGO Sagot Kita Bayan with Dr. Atty. Leo Olarte of Clean Air Philippines, said that the Tripartite Conference will bring together pioneering and mainstream initiatives in clean energy, transport, infrastructure, agriculture, environment and health, sustainable tourism, green building and jobs.
The Senate Committees on Education and Culture headed by Senator Chiz Escudero, the Committee on Public Services headed by Senator Grace Poe, the Committee on Environment and Agriculture headed by Senator Cynthia Villar, the Committee on Energy headed by Senator Win Gatchalian and Committee on Local Government headed by Senator Sonny Angara are involved in the organization of the program together with the Climate Change Commission, the UNEP Project of the Green Climate Fund Readiness Program in concert with the Cabinet Human Development, Poverty and Climate Change clusters through the Office of the Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco.
The objective is to fast track the transition to a climate economy for a green, resilient and industrialized Philippines.
The Declaration and Output will be submitted to President Rodrigo Duterte at the Concluding Ceremony.