24 April 2014 - Permanent Representative Cecilia B. Rebong of the Philippine Mission to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva expressed the Philippines’ full support and active participation in the Leaders’ Summit on Climate Change, which will be held in New York on 23 September 2014.
The Summit, as proposed by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, comes a year before countries conclude a global climate agreement in 2015 and aims at catalyzing action by governments, business, and civil society for new commitments that will help the world shift toward a low-carbon economy.
Speaking at an Earth Day event on April 22 entitled “Global hazards to the protection of Mother Earth,” Ambassador Rebong noted that the Philippines sits on the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” making the country vulnerable to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. She expounded on the devastation brought by typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) last November 2013, as well as damage brought by the strong earthquake that struck central Philippines less than a month before the typhoon hit the country.
Ambassador Rebong expressed the Philippines’ commitment to pursuing the objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and emphasized that “a transparent, open, inclusive and Party-driven approach to UNFCCC negotiations should be preserved because it allows developing countries to engage on an equal footing with developed countries.”
She noted that the 19th Conference of the Parties (COP19) to the UNFCCC established the international mechanism for loss and damage, which was specifically designed for developing countries that are vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change. The mechanism facilitates the provision by developed countries to developing countries of finance, technology and capacity building in order to cope with the adverse impacts of climate change.
Stressing that “the international community stands at a point where even the most aggressive and immediate actions to mitigate climate change will not stop the impact for the next coming years,” Ambassador Rebong maintained that measures intended to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change should be complemented by actions meant to adapt to these impacts.
Ambassador Rebong pointed out that climate change adaptation is the Philippines’ priority, and stated that after typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), the Philippine Government is focusing its efforts to “building back better” and developing disaster-resilient communities.
In 2009, United Nations General Assembly Resolution 63/278 designated April 22 as International Mother Earth Day. The event in Geneva was co-organized by the Permanent Missions of Bolivia and Ecuador and featured the impacts of global hazards on developing countries, international mechanisms to promote the recognition of the rights of nature, as well as highlights of the recently-approved Report of Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). END