Published: April 22, 2014
The Climate Change Commission (CCC) on Monday urged the private sector to volunteer for vulnerability assessment to strengthen capabilities for disaster preparedness, as well as that of the communities where they operate in the face of the worst impacts of climate change.
The call was made by CCC Vice Chairman Lucille N. Sering during the Pusong Luntian Eco-Forum held at the University of the Philippines Diliman campus.
The Pusong Luntian Eco-Forum is aimed at getting the ideas of action leaders from the public, private and academic sectors on various environmental topics.
Organized by Philex Mining Corp., the forum is designed to find ways on how the various stakeholders, particularly the private sector, can be more prepared and share their learnings to the general public.
“After Supertyphoon Yolanda, the focus has sifted from the debate on whether climate change is real or not to how we can survive its ravaging effects,” Michael T. Toledo, Philex senior vice president for corporate affairs, said.
(Photo Source: http://businessmirror.com.ph/)
Sering said the climate-change body will assist the private sector in finding out how vulnerable the ecosystems in their respective areas are to the effects of climate change. She said tools for vulnerability are now available and the private sector should bear in mind potential adverse impacts of climate change.
A vulnerability assessment takes into consideration an area’s stressed ecosystems, level of exposure to the effects of climate change, supply and demand of resources, such as water and electricity, limiting factors for adaptation, and impact thresholds.
“We have to understand each other, that is the reason we are here,” Sering said.
“We need to work together to make sure that if we allow a certain industry to operate, it should also provide that sector the tools to assess vulnerability to climate change.”
For his part, United Nationalist Alliance Rep. Amado Bagatsing of Manila, chairman of the House Committee on Ecology, appealed to the private sector to share its pool of scientists and experts in identifying priority reforms that they can work on to address the complex issues of climate change.
Carlos Primo David, convener of Philippine Business for Environtal Stewardship (PBEST), showed the direct relationship of extreme climate to the country’s gross domestic product and illustrated how adequate planning and strict implementation of sound policies in land use will positively impact the economy by minimizing losses in human and infrastructure assets.
During the forum, a manifesto formalizing the partnership between Philex Mining and PBEST for environmental advocacy was signed by Toledo and Lysander Castillo, secretary-general of PBEST.
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