Legarda Lauds Masbate for its Coal-Free Policy

Venice, Italy – Senator Loren Legarda commends the province of Masbate for the issuance of a resolution banning the development and operation of coal-fired power plants making the province “coal-free”.

As chair of the Senate Committee on Climate Change, Legarda said Provincial Resolution No. 096-18 will help the province reduce harmful emissions, promote renewable energy, protect the environment and safeguard the health of its people.

Legarda agrees with the provincial board of Masbate in saying that its decision is for the benefit of present and future generations of Masbateños.  “As current leaders, we are responsible for how we protect the environment and conserve our resources for the benefit of the future generations. This is how we contribute to a resilient and sustainable development.”

“If we want to achieve sustainability, we need to scale up green initiatives for adaptation and mitigation measures that will further enable us to protect our environment and our people,” the Senator said.

“Our accession to the Paris Agreement was a vital step towards our climate resilience efforts and equally crucial is the level of action that local governments will undertake. Local leaders must be at the forefront of climate action to ensure that solutions will address the specific climate vulnerabilities of communities. Thus, I commend these enlightened LGUs for leading their communities towards the better path of resilience and sustainability. I urge all other provinces to follow suit,” said Legarda.

“Choosing to go coal-free and shifting to clean and renewable energy sources is not just compliance with the Paris Agreement but also ensuring that our communities use energy sources that are more reliable, efficient and cheaper,” she added.

Masbate is now one of the five provinces in the Philippines that have banned coal-powered energy projects; Ilocos Norte, Negros Oriental, Sorsogon, and Guimaras being the first four.

“Aside from going low-carbon, I also urge LGUs to craft their respective local climate change action plans (LCCAP) and adopt the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit goal in doing so. Let us do this because the future of our people and our environment, and the sustainability of our communities matters. Let us do this because the survival of the present and future generations lies in the decisions and actions that we take today,” concluded Legarda, the UNISDR Global Champion for Resilience and UNFCCC National Adaptation Plan Champion.

Legarda is now in Venice, Italy for the Vernissage of the Philippine Pavilion in the 16^th Architecture Biennale, a joint project of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Senator’s Office.  The Vernissage was held yesterday and will be open to the public from May 26 to November 25, 2018 at the Artiglierie, Arsenale in Venice.