The NCC recently held a dialogue on “Managing for Climate Change” with guest speakers Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan, Vice-Chairman and CEO of World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines, and Gloria Buenaventura, Department Head of the Marikina City Environment Management Office.

“The Philippines must change its approach from being reactive to proactive.” This was one of the key messages conveyed by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Vice-Chairman and CEO for the Philippines, Jose Ma Lorenzo Tan, at the NCC Dialogues last September 20. The NCC Dialogues are designed to bring together key policymakers, as well as business and NGO leaders, to inform them about current issues and engage them to take action.

The dialogue on “Managing for Climate Change” featured the joint study of WWF and BPI Foundation, Inc. on Business Risk Assessment and Management of Climate Change Impacts. The study examined key cities in the Philippines and their exposure to climate scenarios such as El Niño, ocean acidification, tropical cyclones, rising sea surface temperatures, sea levels, and rainfall. Tan called on LGUs to act urgently since climate change effects would be highly variable and locally specific. He warned that no part of the Philippines would be safe. The key to long-term competitiveness, he said, would be to “sustainably produce more with less”, with efficient production lines offering income and job opportunities.

Department Head of the Marikina City Environment Management Office Gloria Buenaventura also gave a presentation on local climate change initiatives which included solid waste management, an anti-smoke belching ordinance, and even an earthquake vulnerability reduction and response plan.

To sum up, NCC Private Sector Co-Chairman Guillermo Luz encouraged the public and private sectors to think beyond political terms and work together in addressing environment and sustainability issues, which will carry more weight in various international competitiveness surveys.

Download the study at http://wwf.org.ph/wwf3/climate/publications