Bayanihan needed in responding to climate change — Dela Cruz

A DAY before the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) officially starts at Expo City, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Climate Change Commissioner Albert Dela Cruz Sr. is urging Filipinos to get involved in responding to the impacts of climate change and set the road to self-sufficiency through mitigation and adaptation measures that would help the Philippines achieve resiliency to the global phenomenon’s adverse effects on the environment.

Earlier, President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Romualdez Marcos Jr. had called on the citizenry to actively participate in the government’s efforts of addressing climate change and mitigating its effects by strongly supporting his administration’s programs of action that would fulfill our country’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 75 percent towards 2030.

In a video message at the opening of the 16th Annual Global Warming and Climate Change Consciousness Week, the President stressed that citizens and the government play crucial roles in the preservation of our environment and this, in order to be successful, entails the propagation of the ‘bayanihan’ spirit to unify the whole country in responding to climate change and global warming.

“We all have a role to play in this mission. So we must work together, take a stance in support of our planet. Let us be involved in creating solutions to mitigate the effects of global warming and climate change,” Pres. Marcos Jr. pointed out.

For his part, Commissioner Dela Cruz noted that “the impact of global warming and climate change has become more evident as seen in the extreme weather conditions and other devastating occurrences that we are now experiencing frequently.”

Before flying to Dubai, the climate official visited President Marcos Jr. in Malacañan Palace where he presented the second edition of his book ‘Climate Innovation’ to the chief executive as a testimony of his commitment to support the Marcos administration’s climate action plan to achieve for the Philippines resiliency and self-sufficiency.

“Rising sea levels that cause flooding and increasing temperatures, extreme weather events and the decline in our biodiversity reminds us that it is imperative for us to quickly respond to this immediate environmental concern. I reiterate our beloved President’s overture of uniting our people in order that we may become a more resilient and adaptable nation,” he underscored.