French Pres. Francois Hollande: talking climate change with President Aquino next week. AFP FILE PHOTO
In December this year, France will be hosting the crucial international climate change summit where more than 195 countries are scheduled to strike a deal to curb carbon pollution.
In an effort to ensure a successful agreement towards the climate talks in Paris, the French government has started its series of dialogues with world leaders. Climate Change Vice-Chairperson Mary Ann Lucille Sering confirmed that French President Francois Hollande is visiting the country on February 26 to meet with President Benigno Aquino III as well as key government officials, businesses and local non-government organizations on climate change-related issues.
The Philippines is seen in global circles as a credible voice for climate action; and regarded as the right place to build momentum in ensuring a successful agreement towards the Paris climate talks, Sering explained.
“This is the first time that a sitting head of state of France is visiting the country. The special focus on the bilateral relation between France and the Philippines is to highlight the importance of the climate change international negotiations taking place in Paris this year,” Sering told the InterAksyon.com.
Sering said final preparations are under way for the presidential visit as discussed with President Hollande’s special envoy for the protection of the planet Nicholas Hulot last month. The focus of the discussion, she said, is on the importance of clean energy investment, energy efficiency boost, building community resilience, setting ambitious goals in reducing carbon emissions as well as the leadership role of the Philippines in combatting climate change.
Philippines an important voice
To put pressure on governments to take more concrete actions on climate change, even Pope Francis, who visited the Philippines in January, plans to issue to parishioners worldwide in June an encyclical on climate change. The pope earlier called on all nations to come together to take ambitious actions to address the issue.
Pope Francis had also visited Tacloban City last Jan. 17 and witnessed the devastating effects of climate change on the country. Supertyphoon Yolanda hit central Philippines in November 2013 leaving more than 6,000 dead and displacing thousands of people.
At the Lima climate talks, the Philippines was appointed chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, leading 20 countries that are highly vulnerable to a warmer planet.
“We are suffering from the impacts of climate change first and worst, so there is a need to urgently address the issue of helping the world’s poorest countries cope with the changing climate,” Sering stressed.
Explaining the importance of the French President’s visit to the Philippines and his discussions on crucial climate action with President Aquino, Dean Tony La Vina of the Ateneo School of Government said the two governments must focus on the vital elements of the new agreement at the climate talks in Paris this year.
"I think they should talk about how France and the Philippines can work together to attain that ambitious global mitigation, adaptation and support on finance and technology, and capacity building which are the main goals adopted in the climate talks,” La Vina said.
La Vina, a veteran climate change negotiator and an adviser of the Philippine delegation to the climate talks, pointed out that Manila had been recognized as a leader in climate action, especially among the most vulnerable countries. He noted that the country made a prominent stand at the Lima climate talks by highlighting the context of human rights and the rights of the indigenous peoples in the new agreement.
The 2009 climate talks in Copenhagen ended in disarray and countries failed to come up with a new protocol to replace and supersede the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. In the view of experts, the failure in Copenhagen stemmed partly from the impasse among the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters and the poorer nations.
Climate change disrupts lives
Climate Change Commissioner Naderev Sano said that governments must come together to prevent further dangerous climate change, which retrains the ability of billions of people to confront the twin crisis of development and climate disruption.
“It is about an agreement that recognizes the dignity of the human condition. It is about a more just, democratic, and sustainable world. It is a big goal, but one that i believe that humanity is capable of achieving,” Sano told InterAksyon.com.
While hailing the visit of French President Hollande to Manila, Sano said France and the Philippines must discuss how to work together to ensure a successful deal in Paris.
“This entails unprecedented international cooperation which is anchored on ambitious climate action that is fueled by earnest commitments by the major emitters and the optimum contributions from all countries - in keeping with what is demanded by science and grounded on the simple human understanding of fairness, and utmost clarity on the means of implementation so that global resources can be mobilized to effect the most massive economic transformation in human history to avert the climate crisis,” Sano stressed.
The Philippines, he said, must maintain its strong moral standing as one of the countries most impacted by climate change. “It must galvanize global public opinion towards the right side of this issue. And it must also be a leader for strong domestic climate action that protects its communities, builds resilience, and fosters inclusive and sustainable development.”
Voltaire Alferez, National Coordinator of Aksyon Klima which groups 40 civil-society groups working on climate-related issues, said the Philippines and the European countries must work harder to ensure the Paris climate talks are a success.
“In particular, we hope President Hollande would announce that they are going to be one of the first countries to make good on their $1-billion pledge to the Green Climate Fund. In this way, they can help develop the trust of the developing countries particularly in the post-2020 regime,” Alferez said.
In last year’s climate summit in Lima, Peru, governments made progress on adaptation finance and pledged to the Green Climate Fund with $10.2 billion. That includes contributions from the two biggest green house emitters, the United States and China. The fund aims to assist poorer countries to adapt to the effects of climate change.
“We also want President Aquino to highlight the many initiatives that the Philippines has done to address climate change with our own money including mitigation efforts since the 1990s to the present, as well as the setting up of the Peoples' Survival Fund as a local adaptation fund mechanism,” Alferez added.
In Peru, governments produced the Lima Call for Climate Action that contains climate action points of the new deal and cites how countries submit their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions or climate action for post 2020.
“The fact that climate change is already being felt by poorer and most vulnerable countries, the new climate agreement needs to deliver sufficient financing in order to adapt to the climate impacts and the capacity to transition to a sustainable pathways,” Sering said, adding that the country is prepared to submit its contribution on climate action by June this year after the series of consultations and dialogue with the local government units and other climate experts.
Gerry Arances, National Coordinator for the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), said President Aquino must press for a more ambitious emissions target to the EU.
“Key here is the needed emissions reduction by all countries, most specially by developed countries, which is ambitious enough in order to maintain global warming below 2 degrees; and should be based on science, historical responsibility, and capacities,” Arances said.
Arances suggested that President Aquino also ask for funds from France and the EU necessary for the needed energy transformation away from coal and fossil fuel and towards 100-percent renewable energy system in the country. They have to make sure that climate finance, to address adaptation needs and loss and damages incurred by vulnerable countries, must be a main element of the new climate deal in Paris.
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