Press Release
April 23, 2016

Legarda: PHL Targets Early Ratification
of Paris Climate Agreement

New York, USA--Senator Loren Legarda, Co-Head of the Philippine Delegation at the High Level Signature Ceremony for the Paris Climate Agreement, pronounced the Philippines' commitment to ensuring the early entry into force of the Agreement by aiming for Philippine ratification within the year.

On April 22, a few hours after Environment Secretary Ramon Paje, Head of the Philippine Delegation, signed the Paris Agreement on behalf of the Philippine Government, Legarda attended the High Level Informal Event for the early entry into force of the Paris Agreement.

"We will muster all the energy and resources within our means, sustain advocacy at the grassroots level, and rally the executive and legislative branches of the Philippine government, as well as the local government units, so that the Philippines can be true to its commitment in Paris to keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius and to drive efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels," said Legarda.

The Senator also said she will rally her fellow senators to act on the Philippine ratification of the Agreement and will call on legislators from other nations to ensure the early entry into force of the Agreement.

In her capacity as UNISDR Global Champion for Resilience, Legarda has written to Parliamentarians of the 43 countries making up the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) urging them to ratify the Agreement.

"I also call on my fellow legislators in the Women in Parliaments Global Forum, my fellow policy-makers in GLOBE International, and everyone who values life and our future -- let us continue to rally our networks, organizations, and civil society in ensuring that our governments keep the promises they delivered in Paris," she said.

Meanwhile, Legarda said that while nations await the Agreement's entry into force, governments must already start the work to implement their respective Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

The Philippines' Climate Change Commission (CCC) is preparing an NDC roadmap as it reviews its previously submitted Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) and converts it into NDC.

"The CCC will revisit, reconstruct, and report on the country's NDC given the need to update assumptions and to take into account the external environment, such as costs of technology going down and new policy frameworks, among others," said Legarda.

Even as the Philippines' NDC will still be conditional to the provision of the means of implementation that the country will receive in the form of financial support, capacity building and technology transfer, the government will continue to collaborate with development partners and donor governments to implement its NDC.

News Latest News Feed