Legarda lauds approval of ‘ambitious, transformational’ PH climate pledge

MANILA, 16 April 2021— House Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda lauded the approval of the Philippines’ first Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which pledges significant cuts to the country’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in pursuit of the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

“We welcome the signing of the NDC, which will drive more ambitious climate action, stronger and more sustainable economic growth, and a green pandemic recovery,” Legarda said.

Signed by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, the country’s first NDC conveys a 75% GHG emissions reduction and avoidance by 2030. Out of this, 72.29% is conditional or contingent on the support of climate finance, technologies, and capacity development, which shall be provided by developed countries as prescribed by the Paris Agreement, while the other 2.71% is unconditional or shall be implemented mainly through domestic resources. This is higher than the 70% GHG reduction target in the Philippines’ Intended NDC submitted in 2015.

“Our NDC is ambitious and is indeed transformational, and we thank the President, with the Department of Finance, Climate Change Commission, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Transportation, Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture, and National Economic and Development Authority, for pushing for bigger cuts in our emissions in crafting the NDC. We also laud members of the business sector, civil society organizations and the academe who actively participated in the consultations,” Legarda added.

In January this year, Legarda filed House Resolution 1494 urging the Climate Change Commission (CCC) to submit the country’s NDC to help tackle the climate emergency and drive sustainable pandemic recovery. In the resolution, Legarda called for the NDC to give the “highest possible climate ambition in reflection of the government’s strong commitment to contribute to global efforts to advance climate justice.”

In 2017, as then Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Legarda led the process of the Senate concurrence in the country’s accession to the Paris Agreement. She also convened multi-stakeholder consultations to emphasize that the country’s NDC should reflect mitigation as a function of adaptation, and noted that pursuing the 1.5˚C goal of the Paris Agreement will not only protect people and the environment but will also spur economic growth.

“Our work now is to ensure that we bring together all sectors of society and the economy towards the full implementation of the NDC. This is the only way to a cleaner, healthier, and more resilient world for everyone,” Legarda added.

According to the CCC, the NDC represents the country’s ambition to modernize and pursue low carbon and resilient development for the sectors of agriculture, waste, industry, transport, and energy for the period of 2020 to 2030. It has been submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and appears in the secretariat’s NDC Registry.###