Phl to push for sustainable development in Rio summit
The Philippines, together with thousands of participants, will gather in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to attend the UN Conference on Sustainable Development from June 20-22, 2012. Revolving around the theme: Green Economy: Does it include you?, the conference hopes to find a common consensus to reduce poverty and address the issue of development that is sustainable.
The Philippine Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) chaired by National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), is leading the Philippine delegation which also includes the Climate Change Commission (Commission). Commission Vice Chair Mary Ann Lucille L. Sering, said that they will reiterate the government’s commitment towards sustainable development. “We will push for a green and climate - smart development that ensures the enhanced adaptive capacity of communities, resilience of natural ecosystems, and sustainability of built environment to climate change,” Sering said.
Sering said that the demand to meet the needs of industry and economic development is putting a heavy stress on earth’s resources. “Vast tracts of forest land are being cleared to give way to agriculture, housing and infrastructure development. The bowels of earth are being mined for its precious metals and fuel while seas are fished to supplement our need for nourishment,” she said.
“As a result, the balance between economic development and nature has been altered with dire consequences. We now experience scarcity in food and raw materials to meet the demands of industry and an ever-growing population. Aside from that, our wasteful practices and wanton disregard for the environment have accelerated global warming, triggering climate change and aggravating further the scarcity in resources we are experiencing.”
Sering said that although the Philippines is not a carbon emitter, the government is taking the direction towards a sustainable, low carbon, resource-efficient economic development, taking into consideration in the process the welfare of its people.
“This is embodied in our National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) and conforms to the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) which draw our road map for the pursuit of a sustainable economic development. Initially, we are encouraging investments in green industries such as, development and production of transport modes that run on alternative energy, for instance, batteries or biofuel. We envision this sector to provide additional employment which we badly need,” she said.
This is the second time that the conference is going to be held. The first Rio Earth Summit was held in 1992 and was called the Rio UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).
The summit will be attended by politicians and heads of state and heads of government from member countries as well as officials from member countries and international institutions. Various civil society organisations will also send delegations and media outfits will provide blow-by-blow coverage of the event.