Welcome to SEARCA Knowledge Center on Climate Change Adaptation in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management in Southeast Asia (KC3)

Philippines

Published on 11 January 2016
“We are set to reach the one degree Celsius marker.” This was the pronouncement of Professor Stephen Belcher of the United Kingdom’s Met Office in Nov. 2015. From Jan. to Sept. 2015, the global mean temperature hit 1.02°C. Scientists could argue over the accuracy of such data. True or not, we can no longer deny the existence of climate change, which has become the…
Published on 4 January 2016
The PCCI made its call following the 2015 Paris Climate Change Conference which underscored the need for countries around the world to create their own plans on how they intend to cut greenhouse gas emissions caused by climate change. Jesus Reyes, PCCI vice chairman and vice president-Corporate Affairs of Nestle Philippines Inc., said the 10 warmest years on record happened over the last decade…
Published on 21 December 2015
When the typhoon left, it damaged about 166,552 houses, displacing nearly 743,000 people and killing at least 34, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported. Thousands returned to their communities only to see destroyed roads, bridges, schools, and livelihoods. The estimated cost of damage to infrastructure and agriculture, according to the government, reached more than P1.8 billion as of Saturday, December…
Published on 14 December 2015
“This deal offers a frayed life-line to the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people,” Oxfam Executive Director Helen Szoke said in a statement released on Saturday (December 12). The deal was a success, in the sense leaders agreed to restrict average global warming to 2°C above pre-industrial levels — and if possible, limit it further to 1.5°C. Some scientists said that mega droughts, super…
Published on 14 December 2015
“The Philippines welcomes the Paris agreement as it responds to President Aquino’s call at the start of COP21 (21st Conference of Parties) for all people to act and come to an agreement that allows all voices to be heard and take into consideration the particular situations of all the nations that have taken this historic step to end decades of deadlock and take decisive…
Published on 14 December 2015
“Indeed, for the Philippines, climate change means sorrowful catalogues of casualty and fatality; the countless voices of the homeless and the grieving, their very tears and screams carried to us by the winds and waves that blew their homes away,” Climate Change Commission Secretary Emmanuel de Guzman told delegates from the 196 countries that adopted the historic deal in the 21st Conference of Parties…
Published on 14 December 2015
This is the question raised by Naderev “Yeb” Saño, former lead climate change negotiator of the Philippines, coming on the heels of the recently concluded UN climate conference in Paris. On Saturday, December 12, negotiators from all of the world agreed to adopt a global climate pact that aims to keep the world temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius, and help curb the…
Published on 24 November 2015
Apart from these funds, countries that consider themselves most vulnerable to the ill-effects of global warming are looking to tap billion of dollars from foreign public sources for climate change adaptation and mitigation. “There’s no exact number. People are talking about a $100 billion globally annually from 2020. People are talking about other amounts -- trillions,” said Renato Redentor Constantino, who represents civil society…
Published on 16 November 2015
“You say this was caused by climate change?” he nodded toward the field that was formerly green with a carpet of rice stalks. “If this is change then it’s not for the better,” he said haltingly in Filipino and looked away to hide the tears building up in his eyes. Dark clouds obstruct Domiquel’s future as Lando left his and other farmers’ rice fields…
Published on 16 November 2015
The Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), a coalition of 20 member states and 23 incoming members that cumulatively represent one billion climate-vulnerable people, stressed this issue in its meeting in Manila (9-11 November) ahead of the Paris climate conference (COP21) this December. “We’re putting emphasis on how the vulnerable countries are doing their share at the domestic level and even up to the regional…
Published on 16 November 2015
Climate Change Commission (CCC) assistant secretary Joyceline Goco said Germany has pledged 17.1 million euros (around P867 million) for new climate change projects that will be implemented starting next year. The CCC, in partnership with Germany’s international development company GIZ, recently launched the Support CCC II project aimed at strengthening the country’s efforts in adapting and mitigating the effects of climate change. Goco said…
Published on 9 November 2015
SEARCA, with support from the Asian Development Bank, embarked on the study “Climate Resilience and Green Growth in the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape (UMRBPL): Demonstrating the Eco-town Framework” which formulated measures to help San Mateo, Rodriquez, Antipolo, Tanay and Baras all in Rizal province cope with severe weather changes brought about by climate change, and at the outset, protect its natural environment…
Published on 3 November 2015
Weather officials say monsoon winds, combined with wind patterns created by Typhoon Koppu, which recently hammered the northern island of Luzon, could be causing the “smaze” – smoke and haze -- to drift from Indonesia to the Philippines 1,200 kilometres away.The health department has advised residents in affected areas to wear face masks to prevent inhalation of air particles that can cause respiratory problems…
Published on 3 November 2015
Thus, taking an active role toward a climate-resilient nation, top business leaders gathered recently for the first time at a hotel in Makati City for the “Philippine Business’ Response to Climate Change and El Niño: Manila Declaration Signing and Water Alliance Launch.” Recognizing that the Philippines is one of the top countries that are vulnerable to climate change, the Manila Declaration 2015 is a…
Published on 26 October 2015
But two groups have been considerably less sanguine: Filipinos in food production and the government agencies that deal with them. Loss and devastation, it turns out, do not always come upon us in a single catastrophic event. In early October, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PAGASA) warned us about the “el Niño” phenomenon—officially called…
Published on 26 October 2015
The 2009 Conference of Parties (COP) in Copenhagen failed to have a climate agreement, but the following COP in Cancun then resulted to a long term goal of achieving a 2ºC limit. Scientific studies, however, say that 2ºC warming is already highly dangerous. A study – led by climate scientist James Hansen, alongside 16 other scientists – said that 2 degrees of warming could…
Published on 26 October 2015
Dr. Rodel D. Lasco, chairman of the Task Force on Climate Change of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), said adaptation and mitigation should always go together in combatting climate change. “One should not exist without the other. Before, we see programs that are for adaptation only or mitigation only. Programs should be both for adaptation and mitigation,” Lasco said in an…
Published on 19 October 2015
Assistant Secretary Joyceline Goco, deputy executive director of the Climate Change Commission, said initial estimates showed that the country needs around $12 billion to $15 billion in support to achieve its intended nationally determined contributions (INDC) to address climate change. In a recent roundtable discussion with The STAR, Goco said the ambitious contribution of the Philippines is anchored on a condition that the country…
Published on 12 October 2015
In a press briefing for the 12th APEC Energy Ministers’ Meeting (EMM) here, Department of Energy Undersecretary Loreta Ayson said that aside from power demand, there is now a strong need to invest in resilient energy infrastructure as the region is faced with the challenges of climate change. “As we have emphasized before, APEC economies should learn from past experiences and shift to sustainable…
Published on 12 October 2015
Dubbed as “COP21: The Road to Paris Starts in Manila,” French Embassy deputy Head of Mission Laurent Le Godec said integrating the arts and cultural activities into the discussion of climate change expands the awareness and brings the technicalities of the issue closer to the people. “It is artists who can make new ideas come out and can express people’s sensibilities. We are talking…
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