Climate change tops Philippine environmental priorities

PhilStar.com: As world leaders attempted but failed to formulate a post-Kyoto Protocol agreement to deal with global warming, the Philippines has been ranked as the top victim of extreme weather events in the world in 2006. Based on the international report “Global Climate Risk Index 2006,” which environment and development organization Germanwatch and Munich Reinsurance presented during the historical United Nations-initiated climate summit in Bali, Indonesia, the Philippines was the most affected among the countries that suffered storms, floods, and extreme weather events.

Prior to this report, various environmental groups have repeatedly warned the government about the Philippines being a climate change “hotspot.” International group Greenpeace even came out with its own assessment and projections on the vulnerability of the country to climate change. ….

…The government, through DENR, had also set its action plan on climate change mitigation that included the improvement in the management of forests and grasslands and air quality.

Its adaptation measures include protection of water aquifer, conduct of massive information and education campaign, expansion of capacities of river basins, establishment of protection measures for coastal areas, determination of areas most vulnerable to natural hazards “to forewarn people,” and strengthening the protection of ecosystems and vulnerable species.

…[In April 2007], Greenpeace released a briefing paper, which [estimated] that close to 700 million square meters of land area in the country will gradually be submerged as global temperatures increase due to climate change, causing water expansion. The study, titled “The Philippines: A Climate Hotspot,” presented an overview of how extreme weather events and sea level rise threaten the country’s people, economy, species, and ecosystems. Greenpeace Southeast Asia climate and energy campaigner Abigail Jabines stressed that their study revealed that “the entire Philippines is a climate hotspot” as the country is “vulnerable to the worst manifestations of climate change.”

…In fact, according to Germanwatch’s Global Climate Risk Index, the Philippines was the world’s top climate victim in 2006 because it was the most affected among the countries that suffered storms, floods, and extreme weather events in that year. The Philippines was ranked 51st in its Global Climate Risk Index in 2005. The report said that in the Philippines, a series of storms left a death toll of at least 1,267, equivalent to 1.46 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, and losses totaling $4.5 billion. The report also said that in 2006, some 8,568,968 Filipinos were affected by extreme weather events.

The report identifies the countries most affected by extreme weather events based on the total number of deaths, deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, losses in US dollars, and losses per unit of the gross domestic product. Asian countries dominated the ranking of the most affected countries in this climate risk index worldwide….