CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION IN THE

PHILIPPINES – THEN, NOW AND MOVING FORWARD

Rose Anne Mendoza (Philippines)

Научный руководитель: доцент Торохтий Л.С.
КазНУ им. аль-Фараби

Because of the archipelagic structure of the Philippines as well as its location, it is one of
the countries which are most vulnerable to tropical cyclone occurrence. In other words,
typhoons are usual visitors in the Philippines. However, these visitors have become even more
frequent and stronger because of climate change and as such there are more damages in lives and
properties. The Commission on Audit said in 2014 that there's an estimated 29 billion USD in
economic damages per year. Aside from stronger typhoons, there are other implications of
climate change. Some cities (including the capital city Manila) can become submerged in water
due to sea-level rise. Still another effect is in agriculture. Agriculture relies on stable weather
pattern, which is disrupted by climate change. It represents over one-fifth of the country’s gross
domestic product (GDP) and about one-third of the labor force rest on it. Having said all these,
the main threat of climate change is the Filipinos’ very survival. As such these questions are
very critical: How are the public and private sector of the Philippines deal with the issue of
climate change? What are the things we can learn to ensure the future of Filipinos?

History of Disaster Reduction, Climate Change Mitigation1 and Adaptation2

in the Philippines
In 1970, after Typhoon Sening (international name Joan) devastated the Philippines, the
Philippine government started adopting policies to manage calamities. President Ferdinand
Marcos ordered the creation of a Disaster and Calamities Plan which later birthed the National
Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC). Other strong typhoons further ravaged the country and
the NDCC had been very alert to respond. However, the focus of that law was only to respond to
disaster and calamities.

In 1999, Clean Air Act was passed. The goal of this law was to set standards for the
emission of green house gases (GHG) which is known to increase global temperature. Later,
Executive Order 320 was formed which focused on programs to prevent or absorb GHGs.

The government realized the need to pound more on mitigation, so in 2005 the government
created the NDCC Four Point Action Plan to lead prevention and mitigation of disasters by: “1)
improving forecasting capability of concerned agencies, 2) engaging the local disaster councils,

1
Climate mitigation is any action taken to permanently eliminate or reduce the long-term risk and hazards of
climate change to human life, property.
2
Climate adaptation refers to the ability of a system to adjust to climate change (including climate variability and
extremes) to moderate potential damage, to take advantage of opportunities, or to cope with the consequences.
3) holding annual disaster consciousness month in July and, 4) formalizing stakeholder
partnerships through memoranda of agreement.”

The government consistently and actively responded to climate change and created other
relevant laws. In 2009, Republic Act 9729 (also known as the Climate Change Act of 2009) was
enacted. This law emphasized on creating a framework for mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Through this law, the Climate Change Commission (CCC) was formed.

Because of the shift from response to mitigation and adaptation, the Philippine Disaster
Reduction and Management Act was passed in 2010. Two significant changes happened: first,
the NDCC was replaced with NDRRMC (National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Council). Second, the local DRRM fund was established. This fund came from 5% of the
revenue of the local government. 70% of this fund is used for pre-disaster measures and the rest
for relief and recovery programs.

In order to finance long-term climate change projects, the Climate Change Act of 2009 was
amended and People’s Survival Fund was established in 2012. Finally in 2014, President
Benigno Aquino III gave Executive Order 174 that started the Philippine Greenhouse Inventory
and Reporting System.

Now and moving forward: making climate change mitigation and adaptation
“a way of life”
In reality the Philippines is not a major green house gas (GHG) emitter, accounting for less
than 1% of the global total. Logically, even if the entire Philippines becomes GHG-free
overnight, this has almost insignificant effect to global climate change and the problems the
Philippines is facing now. Despite that, active participation in climate change mitigation and
adaptation is still crucial for us and the generations to come.

The projection is that the Philippines’ GHG emission will constantly increase in the years
to come due to rapid urbanization, growing economy, increased demand and use of energy, and
rise in the number of vehicles. Cooperation from both government and private sector is very
vital to ensure that long sustainable development will be prioritized over fast economic growth.
In the first place, economic growth is an inevitable effect of sustainable development.

Government Sector
Aside from creating the above laws on climate change, the Philippine government through
the Climate Change Commission, drafted “The National Framework Strategy on Climate
Change 2010-2022.” This Framework recognized the importance of both mitigation and
adaptation.

This section outlines the Key Result Areas (KPAs) for mitigation and adaption under the
said Framework. (For complete information about this Framework, please refer to the actual document, with
the link included in the Literature section.)
Key Result Areas for Mitigation
Long-term Objective: Facilitate the transition towards low greenhouse gas emissions for
sustainable development.
1. Energy efficiency and conservation
Objective: Develop and enhance clean energy sources, uses and other efficiency
measures towards a low carbon economy in the energy sector.
2. Renewable energy
Objective: Realize the full potential of the country’s renewable energy capacity so as to
further contribute to energy security and promote low-carbon growth in the energy
sector
3. Environmentally sustainable transport
Objective: Improve the efficiency of the transport sector through increased uptake of
alternative fuels and expansion of mass transport systems
4. Sustainable infrastructure
Objective: Reduce carbon footprint through energy-efficient design and materials for
public infrastructure and settlements
5. National REDD+ Strategy – REDD+ stands for Reducing Emissions from
Deforestation and forest Degradation in developing countries. The destruction of
tropical forests releases as much carbon dioxide as the entire global transport sector. In
other words, one major solution to climate change is solving the problem of
deforestation.
Objective: Reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation through the
sustainable management of forests and the protection and enhancement of carbon
stocks in watersheds, forests and other terrestrial ecosystems
6. Waste Management
Objective: Full implementation of proper waste management

Key Result Areas for Adaptation

Long-term Objective: To build the adaptive capacity of communities and increasing the
resilience of natural ecosystems to climate change.
1. Enhanced vulnerability and adaptation assessments
Objective: Enhance the availability and quality of vulnerability and adaptation
assessments to serve as the country’s scientific basis for formulating appropriate
climate change adaptation strategies.
2. Integrated Eco-system based management
3. Water governance and management
Objective: Reduce water sector vulnerability to climate change through participative
water governance, resource management and sectoral policy reform.
4. Climate responsive agriculture
Objective: Protect and enhance ecosystems and ecosystem services to secure food and
water resources and livelihood opportunities.
5. Climate response health sector
Objective: Manage health risks brought about by climate change.
6. Climate-proofing infrastructure
Objective: Render the infrastructure sector resilient to the escalating impacts of
climate change
 7. Disaster risk reduction
Objective: Reduce disaster risks from climate change-induced natural hazards.

There are also several cross-cutting areas that this Framework identified as crucial to the
achievement of the national goal. The Framework identified strategies for Capacity
Development, Knowledge Management, Information Education and Communication, Research
and Development, and Technology Transfer.

Private Sector
The government on its own cannot fulfill all the climate change initiatives. There is a need
to engage the private sector and the civil society.

The private sector is becoming more and more engaged in climate change initiatives. This
is a result of great loses incurred by companies due to weather disturbances, and these loses will
continue unless drastic measures are taken. One of the very first steps for adaptation that private
sectors applied is “climate proofing.” Companies took into consideration building factories and
workplaces that are safe and meet environmental standards. Under the umbrella of Corporate
Social Responsibility, the private sector is now a significant contributor in rehabilitation of
communities, capacity building, information dissemination, research and development, food,
agriculture and fisheries, etc.

According to a survey done by Pulse Asia in 2010 only 52% of the Filipinos claimed to
have awareness about climate change. In another survey done by Social Weather Stations
(SWS) in 2013 85% of the Filipinos claimed to have felt the effects of climate change. This is a
good indication that there is an increased awareness among Filipinos. The more important step
is that they practice concrete solutions to climate change in every area of their lives. This is
possible through joint effort of government and private sectors.

Conclusion

The Philippines’ work on climate change mitigation and adaptation is making steady
progress, but still has a long way to go. The country’s economy is currently one of the most
promising and fastest-growing not just in Asia but in the world, however with the effects of
climate change, the progress in economy will be short-lived. As such, all Filipinos – public and
private sector alike – should work aggressively in mitigation and adaptation programs. Such
programs should be consistently incorporated in everyday life to have a continual and lasting
effect.

Literature
1. “Climate Mitigation and Adaptation”, http://www.global-greenhouse-warming.com/climate-mitigation-
and-adaptation.html
2. Office of the President, Climate Change Commission, “National Framework Strategy on Climate Change
2010-2022”
3. Rey, Aika, “Timeline: PH Policies on Climate Change and Disaster Management”,
https://www.rappler.com/move-ph/issues/disasters/111307-climate-change-disaster-management-policies-
philippines, November 2, 2015
4. Sering, Lucille, “Filipinos, how are you adapting to climate change?”
http://blogs.worldbank.org/eastasiapacific/filipinos-how-are-you-adapting-to-climate-change-you-ask-we-
answer?page=4, June 18, 2013
5. “Strengthening the Philippines’ Institutional Capacity to Adapt to Climate Change”,
http://www.mdgfund.org/node/620
6. Villamejor-Mendoza, Maria Fe, “Private Sector Engagement in Climate Change Mitigation and
Adaptation: Implications in Regional Governance”, 2014 EROPA International Conference