A local business group has backed President Duterte’s stand against the international climate accord signed by the Philippine government earlier this year, saying the pact would hamper the country’s industrialization efforts.
According to the Federation of Philippine Industries, it agreed with Mr. Duterte, who had said he would not allow the country to be dictated upon by countries like the United States and those in Europe.
Mr. Duterte had said that the country’s industrialization should not be stymied by climate change mitigation policies, principally in the energy sector.
In a statement, FPI chairman Jesus Lim Arranza said this was the same position held by the group, as he pointed out that the Philippines’ contribution to greenhouse gas emissions was merely 0.3 percent—a figure that was “negligible and could be very well mitigated and sequestered by the country’s reforestation, efficient energy mix, better traffic management, among others.”
“Hence, Mr. Duterte’s stand is correct because it is the advanced countries such as the United States and Europe, among other states, that pioneered in massive greenhouse gas emissions and yet the low country emitter such as the Philippines is being made to shoulder a big burden in mitigation that prejudices development,” Arranza explained.
Under its commitment to the landmark climate accord signed in New York in April, the Philippines will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent up to 2030.
This agreement was adopted by 196 countries that participated in the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change held in France in December last year.