Opening Statement: Senate Committee on Climate Change Organizational Meeting

Senator Loren Legarda’s Opening Statement
Senate Committee on Climate Change
Organizational Meeting
22 August 2016 | Senate of the Philippines

I would like to call this organizational meeting of the Senate Committee on Climate Change to order.

Good afternoon and we welcome the members of the Committee.

In the past congresses, the Committee has spearheaded the creation of vital pieces of legislation needed to mainstream climate change adaptation and mitigation in government policies, both in national and local levels.

Today, as a signatory to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the task at hand is to pursue the government’s ratification of the Agreement.

However, we cannot wait for the Agreement to take effect before we take action. We must sustain efforts to further the nation’s strategy on strengthened climate action because extreme weather events will continue to claim lives, cause destruction, and affect our economy as institutions and nations all over the world debate whether to ratify or not.

It is on this note that the Committee wishes to be updated on the implementation of the People’s Survival Fund Law and other programs, projects and initiatives of the Commission to promote a low carbon economy and ensure that we lessen climate risks and communities are able to adapt to the impacts of the warming climate.

Thank you and we now proceed to the adoption of rules of the Committee.