MANILA – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) assured support for the implementation of the 2017-2020 Ambitious City Promises (ACP) project which promotes local government unit (LGU)-led climate action with active and inclusive community engagement.
Support can be by providing technical assistance in developing policies relevant to ACP’s thrust, DENR Asst. Sec. Corazon Davis said.
She noted that DENR can also help sponsor summits which LGUs can attend to learn more about the matter. ”We can provide avenues for cascading that to LGUs,” she said.
This week, ACP was launched in Metro Manila after its October 2017 global debut in Seoul, South Korea.
The project aims to help the Philippine cities of Pasig, Paranaque, and Marikina reduce their respective climate change-driving greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by capacitating these LGUs and engaging communities there on climate action through low-emission development strategies.
ACP also covers Indonesia’s Jakarta, Bekasi, and Tangerang as well as Vietnam’s Hanoi, Soc Son, and Son Tay cities.
GHG emission reduction through ACP will augment emission cuts the Philippines will achieve in the country’s energy, transport, waste, forestry, and industry sectors as committed in the Paris Agreement on climate change.
“The project aims contributing to local, national and global climate goals,” said global projects officer Jiwon Lee of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) that is implementing the ACP.
ICLEI is a local government-founded non-profit membership organization providing technical consultation, training and information services to build capacity, share knowledge and support LGUs in implementing sustainable development at the local level.
“We aim at strengthening cities’ capacity to engage with respective citizens to help drive more climate action,” said Ranell Dedicatoria, ICLEI Southeast Asia Regional Program Manager.
ICLEI said such engagements will be modeled after the Promise of Seoul, the comprehensive strategy and climate action plan Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) adapted in 2015 to help create a better Seoul.
Such an action plan includes 11 pledges covering all areas of climate change from energy, air quality, transport and resource recycling to water, ecology, urban agriculture, health, safety, and urban planning, noted ICLEI.
SMG committed to reducing by 2030, through the Promise of Seoul, 20 million tons of GHG emissions.
The DENR is ACP’s political partner in the Philippines. “We at DENR welcome the project – the power to change the world lies in every city,” said Davis. Climate change’s threat to cities is raising urgency for reducing GHG emissions in these areas, she noted.
Davis congratulated Pasig, Paranaque, and Marikina for being chosen as the Philippines’ ACP cities.
“Those LGUs are known as model cities and trailblazers in natural resource conservation and environmental protection,” she said.
She hopes more LGUs can be models and trailblazers for the environment and climate.
Established in 1990, ICLEI dropped its full name and became known as ‘ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability’ starting 2003 to reflect a broader focus on sustainability and not just environmental initiatives.