The Philippines belongs to the top four countries in the world that are said to be most susceptible to climate change and its damaging effects. The Philippines ranked third from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh as fourth.
Pakistan, Philippines, and Bangladesh are the countries said to encounter extreme weather conditions due to its increasing vulnerability in the present climate crisis.
Currently, the Philippines work opposite from New Zealand, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, and Norway – the countries in the world that are least vulnerable to the risk of climate change and its effects to both nature and humanity.
As the country moves forward to reduce factors affecting the climate phenomenon, efforts have been laid to address environment dilemmas to combat the presented risk. In fact, in March 2017, the signed Paris Agreement on Climate Change sworn to reduce carbon emissions in the country by committing to reducing carbon emissions by 70 percent in the year 2030.
In 2015, the Philippines also committed with the United Nations to diminish the emissions of greenhouse gases. With this, the country devotes to reduce the carbon dioxide emitted from transportation, energy, and forestry sectors of the nation. As said, the government and several environmental groups encourage big companies to be more responsible with what they are emitting to the air -- as they are the most significant contributors to such harmful emissions.
Photo by Get Real Philippines
Photo by Get Real Philippines
The effects of climate change worsen the occurrence of El Niño and La Niña, and as much as these phenomena can be entirely uncontrollable, people, especially in the front-end can still alleviate it from happening. Hence, the existing efforts and the encouraged participation towards the solutions against climate crisis.
Agriculture is one of the most affected by the climate crisis. Failure to address signs or clues about it can cause problems in cultivating rice (a staple food for Filipinos), growing livestock, harvesting vegetables and fruits to name a few. To address predicaments in the said sectors, many volunteer groups and non-government organizations alongside with the efforts of various government agencies promote sustainable living that can assure safety and conservation of the country’s available natural resources.
Now, faced with bigger climate risks, the Philippines are experiencing the unfavorable effects of the crisis in the nature – 1) The change in the weather conditions that lauds on the extreme fence which endangers every strand of lives in an affected area. 2) The pitfalls of events like droughts and floods that jeopardize different types of livelihood and agricultural operations; and 3) the incidence of illnesses outbreaks due to the said change of weather that pest the human life, as well as the life of plants and animals.
Problems in agriculture due to extreme flooding brought by a typhoon | Photo by World Bank Group
Problems in agriculture due to extreme flooding brought by a typhoon | Photo by World Bank Group
The Philippines’ susceptibility to climate change is exceptionally evident; hence, Filipinos should all double or maybe triple time to put a halt in contributing to these worsening climate change effects and factors. It could be all said easier than done but showing concern and putting a heart on something the people can benefit from must be well-sustained for next generations to come.
Being optimistic and doers to help combat the effects of climate change is a huge factor in the #ClimateAction project to achieve #ClimateJustice. To help with the process, utilize appliances that devour less energy. In fact, the Department of Energy is in promotion to educate and inform consumers through its released ‘yellow tag’ on available appliances in the market that it consume less energy and deem helpful to reduce emissions. More so, promote responsible home ownership and household-running by turning off and unplugging devices when not in use.
Authored by: Shainne L. Hostalero, MDC
Originally published on: July 29, 2018
Updated: December 10, 2019
References:
Flores, H. (2018, March 21). Climate change vulnerability: Philippines ranks 3rd. Retrieved from https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/03/21/1798866/climate-change-vulnerability-philippines-ranks-3rd
PAG-ASA. (n.d.). Impacts of Climate Change. Retrieved from https://www1.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/index.php/93-cad1/473-impacts-of-climate-change#agriculture
Rappler. (n.d.). Climate change: Why PH should care. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/brandrap/climate-change