Cimatu to convene climate change meeting
By Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz | Manila Bulletin
February 5, 2019, 5:17 PM
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy Cimatu will lead the resiliency planning and convergence budgeting for the eight priority climate vulnerable provinces in a high-level meeting at the DENR Central Office in Quezon City on Thursday.
Cimatu, who is the chair of the Cabinet cluster on Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation and Disaster Risk Reduction will lead the meeting, which is expected to be attended by governors of the eight climate vulnerable provinces and key officials of the national government agencies, namely Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Interior and Local Government.
DENR Leads the Resiliency Planning & Convergence Budgeting for 8 Climate Vulnerable Provinces
Environment and Natural Secretary Roy Cimatu, as Chair of the Cabinet Cluster on Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation and Disaster Risk Reduction (CCAM DRR), will lead the resiliency planning and convergence budgeting for the eight priority climate vulnerable provinces in a high-level meeting at the DENR Central Office, Visayas Avenue, Quezon City on February 7, 2019.
The meeting is set to be with Governors of the eight climate vulnerable provinces and the national government agencies namely Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Agriculture (DA), and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The meeting is intended to discuss the climate vulnerabilities is the aforesaid provinces, and reinforce government’s push for a more prudent and targeted spending by fostering collaboration among agencies in planning, budgeting and implementing priority resilience programs and projects in the said provinces.
The eight priority provinces namely Masbate, Sorsogon, Negros Oriental, Samar, Sarangani, Surigaodel Sur, Surigao del Norte, and Dinagat Islands are vulnerable based on their high susceptibility to climate hazards (flooding, rainfall-induced landslide, storm surge, strong winds due to typhoon, typhoons and drought), high poverty incidence as of 2015 data, and are situated in critical watersheds.
The Cabinet Cluster CCAM-DRR Roadmap for 2018 to 2022 aims to establish climate- and disaster-resilient communities. By the year 2022, the CCAM DRR Cabinet Cluster anticipates the enhancement of climate- and disaster-resilient communities in the 17 climate vulnerable provinces, and major urban centers (Metro Manila, Cebu, Iloilo & Davao).
The aforecited concerned national government agencies, with the provincial governments are actively taking part in ensuring the achievement of these goals. The proposed Risk Resiliency Program key investment projects for 2020 are in the areas of: community livelihood and enterprise continuity; integrated water resources management; enhancing coastal protection; and climate information services.###
Climate change, biodiversity experts work to keep Asean region ‘cool’
By BusinessMirror | Business Mirror
SWELTERING hot days. Increased number of typhoons. Unprecedented instances of storm surges. These have become the norm nowadays, and people are quick to blame these on one thing: climate change.
The global public’s awareness on the urgency of addressing climate change has increased over the years.
In the Southeast Asian region alone, overall temperature has been increasing at a rate of 0.14 degrees Celsius to 0.20°C per decade since the 1960s, as reported in the Second Edition of the Asean Biodiversity Outlook (ABO 2) of the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB).
IPCC special report: PHL on the right path?
‘With clear benefits to people and natural ecosystems, limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to 2ºC, could go hand in hand with ensuring a more sustainable and equitable society,” the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said last week when it released the summary of its Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5ºC in Incheon, Korea.
The scientific report, alarming as it is, drew various reactions with some environmental groups demanding for, bold climate action, a step backward from coal addiction and a step toward clean, renewable energy solutions.
Greenhouse-gas emissions rise like a ‘speeding freight train’ in 2018
By New York Times News Service | Business Mirror
December 9, 2018
A flame emits from a chimney at the BASF chemical company in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
Greenhouse-gas emissions worldwide are growing at an accelerating pace this year, researchers said a few days ago, putting the world on track to face some of the most severe consequences of global warming sooner than expected.
Scientists described the quickening rate of carbon-dioxide emissions in stark terms, comparing it to a “speeding freight train” and laying part of the blame on an unexpected surge in the appetite for oil as people around the world not only buy more cars but also drive them farther than in the past—more than offsetting any gains from the spread of electric vehicles.