PH Embassy Champions Appropriate Technology and Adaptation Measures in Environmental Diplomacy at DASICON 2024
(From Left to Right) Ms. Veronika Nechaeva, moderator of the Environmental Diplomacy Panel, Ms.Sevim Aktas, Policy Officer at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Climate Action, Philippine Ambassador Evangelina Lourdes A. Bernas, and Mr. Michael Lederer, Attaché at the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs answering questions during the panel discussion of the Diplomatic Academy Students' Initiative Conference (Vienna PE photo)
VIENNA 14 March 2024 - The Philippine Embassy shed light on the country’s vulnerability to climate change and how technical cooperation can address pressing environmental and sustainability concerns at an environmental diplomacy panel. The measures highlighted were in line with food security and establishing livable and sustainable communities under the government’s 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda. The event took place at the Vienna School of International Studies on March 01, 2024.
In the panel at the student-led Austria Diplomatic Academy Conference, Philippine Ambassador Evangelina Lourdes A. Bernas reiterated the importance of implementing innovative solutions based on current needs and challenges faced by developing countries. “We want to make sure that there are adaptation measures that we can already use now to help us. In our case in the Philippines, we use satellite technology for real time disaster risk management under our Philippine Space Agency. It sounds a little strange that a country like the Philippines has a space agency, but this is what we use it for—a practical use for our archipelago, and having this technology helps us manage in a region riddled with disasters every year,” she affirmed.
She further highlighted the significance of adaptation measures and the role of technologies developed in coordination with UN bodies such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The Philippines is one of the pilot countries for IAEA’s NUTEC Plastics initiative, which seeks to remove plastics pollution from the oceans and to prevent plastics from reaching the ocean in the first place.
Philippine Ambassador Bernas also acknowledged the potential benefits and ethical concerns surrounding AI, sharing concrete examples of beneficial usage. “It is up to governments to rein it in and protect society. It can have very useful and impactful gains for environmental policy. There are so many processes that can be automated through AI, and we can get good results based on accurate information right away, whether it’s disaster management or scheduling production for rice, and even coupling that with finding out the most beneficial agricultural practices so the soil does not get depleted of nutrients,” she said.
Philippine Ambassador Bernas was joined at the panel by Ms. Sevim Aktas, Policy Officer at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Climate Action, and Mr. Michael Lederer, Attaché at the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs.
DASICON (Diplomatic Academy Students' Initiative Conference) is a one-day conference of the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna that fosters dialogue among stakeholders on contemporary global issues, which was held on 1 March 2024. END
Philippine Ambassador Evangelina Lourdes A. Bernas sharing her views on environmental diplomacy during the Diplomatic Academy Students' Initiative Conference (DASICON) 2024. (Vienna PE photo)
Philippine Ambassador Evangelina Lourdes A. Bernas (middle) sharing her views on environmental diplomacy during the Diplomatic Academy Students' Initiative Conference (DASICON) 2024. (Vienna PE photo)
DASICON 2024 reception featuring Filipino delicacies pancit and biko (Vienna PE photo)
For more information, visit https://www.viennape.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.philippine-embassy.at or https://www.facebook.com/PHLinAustria/, https://www.twitter.com/PHLinAustria or https://www.instagram.com/phinaustria/.