Legarda Welcomes Announcement on 2018 CVF Virtual Summit

June 27, 2018

Senator Loren Legarda welcomes the announcement made by President Hilda Heine, President of Marshall Islands and incoming Chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) that this year’s CVF Virtual Summit will be convened on 22 November.  The announcement was made during the 6th Global Environment Facility Assembly in Da Nang, Vietnam.

 

“The CVF plays a very significant role in pushing for a more ambitious climate commitment that would deliver beneficial results to vulnerable countries. We must continue to rally our respective governments and the community of nations to take urgent climate action,” Legarda said.

 

“The CVF Virtual Summit will serve as a venue for its members to reaffirm their genuine commitment to pursue the ultimate goal of building resilient, safe, healthy and livable cities and communities. We need to be reminded through this summit of the original purpose of organizing the CVF in the first place, and to also regain the momentum of global climate action,”Legarda added.

 

According to the statement of Marshallese President Heine, this year’s CVF Summit, which will be the first-ever global political summit to be held entirely online, will showcase “our intensions to work in new and innovative ways, and to build broader coalitions across society for the change we need and is aimed to inspire leaders all over the world to reconsider what might be additionally accomplished through the creative use of resources at hand. “

 

“We welcome this innovation and we support the move to take advantage of the latest technological advancements so we can do more and we can do better.  This virtual summit is a new undertaking for CVF and hopefully, this will help the member nations to further promote inclusive dialogue and dynamic exchange of initiatives,” Legarda said.

 

Moreover, the Summit also aims to encourage more countries to join this new coalition of front-runners willing to raise ambition, accelerate climate action, and address climate threats. It will be held between the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 1.5 special report in October and Conference of the Parties (COP 24) in Poland in December.

 

In November 2015, the CVF adopted the Manila-Paris Declaration during a High-Level Meeting in conjunction with the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP21). It articulated common concerns and commitments of vulnerable countries and urged the strengthening of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels enshrined in the Paris Agreement.

 

“We are striving for 1.5°C to ensure a sustainable, low-carbon economy, and we know we can do this together. The dream of having a safer and cleaner world needs the cooperation of all countries, and it would be much better if more countries would join us in this cause.  After all, we live in the same planet; any harm done to the environment would not only impact the vulnerable nations but would affect the entire human ecosystem and balance of life,” Legarda said.

 

“Now that the Marshall Islands has assumed the CVF Presidency, I am certain that, with the unequivocal support of every member, it will continue to be a powerful voice of reason in the fight for climate justice for the vulnerable,” Legarda concluded.