Secretary Borje, Robert, welcome. Varad, to you first
if it's OK. Just talk to me, if you would, about adaptation and
resilience and why it's so critical in Southeast Asia.
Sure.
You know, even as we chase the 1.5° target, it's very clear
that the impact of extreme weather events and temperature
rise is now here to stay.
And Southeast Asia is particularly vulnerable.
You know, some of the data that we see says that one-third of
GDP of the region is at risk and about half the population of the
region is at risk.
Not to forget the 4,000 species which are unique in the region,
which are also highly vulnerable.
So the time to act on adaptation and resilience is now, even as
we continue to work on the mitigation goals.
Robert, talk to me about the situation in the Philippines
when it comes to adaptation and resilience: the biggest
challenges, the ambitions that you have. That's a very good
question.
For the Philippines,
both adaptation and resilience are objects and instruments of
policy.
This is because we sit on the typhoon belt and we're also in
the Pacific Ring of Fire.
So immediately, our geography provides us with these
handicaps, so to speak, towards development.
And we do want to progress as a country.
But again, the loss and damage have been very difficult for us.
In the last 10 years,
our loss and damage has been about $12.1 billion, and that's
equal to about twice the education budget for the
Philippines.
And you know how it is.
It's a zero-sum game when you talk about resources.
So we have loss and damage on the one hand because of climate
change, but we have limited resources that we're taking away
from other departments.
So it's key that we build adaptation and resiliency from
both the national level, as well as in the local government
level.
And for us, it's really a priority because it's what we
need to do to ensure that our losses and damages are not only
minimized, but we ensure that our economy and our people
continue to grow.
And it's a growth and development that's really aimed
towards prosperity and human security.
So these two are critically important for the Philippines.
Looking at it from a national level,
can you talk to me through your National Adaptation Plan?
The National Adaptation Plan is a product of interagency work
and a whole-of-society approach.
So it's not only the Philippine government that's been part of
the process, but we've included other key stakeholders of our
society because that's what we need to do.
But what's also important is that this is a science-driven
and a data-driven document.
And we would say it's a living document because it simply
starts the process that we have.
It identifies key areas of action at the national level so
that our different government agencies will be able to come up
with the programs, and policies, and measures to effectively
implement these.
And we are going to partner with our LGUs to make sure that our
local government units who are really at the front line of the
work when it comes to climate change, adaptation, and
resiliency need all the support they can get.
And I think what's also important is that it does not
only address the need for a strong continuum from national
to local government, but it also provides the opportunity for
international partners to be so engaged.
Because the approach that we have is that climate change, the
challenges that it poses, along with the solutions, will have to
be global and systemic in its approach as well.
So it's a very good foundational document and it provides us with
a solid plan to get us through from point A to point B, what we
call from point of fragility to point of agility.
Varad, is there anything to add from a regional or global
context? Lessons for other countries, perhaps?
Yeah, sure.
And I'll pick up where Secretary Borje left.
I think in our experience, three things are important to get
right.
The first is using science, data, and advanced analytics to
make better predictions about where we are headed.
The second is to make adaptation people-centric and as Secretary
was saying, Philippines has really taken that part.
And the third is just to make sure that it is actionable and
practical in terms of what comes out of it, so we can go from
plan to implementation to safeguard lives and livelihoods
that we seek to do.
For us,
it's critical, again, because for the Philippines, these are
not just concepts or plans.
What's more important than just the plans are the outputs and
the outcomes that we want.
And for my country, and for my president, President Ferdinand
Romualdez Marcos Jr., it's important that we get this into
perspective.
For the Philippines, it's lives, and livelihood, and our future
that's at stake.
And therefore, this foundational document is key to make sure
that we have not just a clear path, but the clear and
measurable outcomes and outputs that we will later on revisit to
make sure that the plan is working, and working well for
our people.
And I just want to say that it's equally important for us to make
sure that the plan, and it is, it's inclusive, it's reflective
of the desires and aspirations of our entire society.
And it gives us again the lodestar for the work that needs
to be done, so that we become a climate smart, climate
resilient, and low-carbon economy for the future.
Great.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.