House OKs bill declaring climate emergency

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a bill declaring that the Philippines is in the state of climate emergency. 

With 238 lawmakers voting in favor, House Bill 9084 or the proposed Climate Change Resilience Act was unanimously approved Wednesday, just a day before the start of COP28 climate negotiations in Dubai. 

The climate emergency declaration stresses the need for the government to formulate measures to stop human-induced global warming, limit its effects, and mobilize funds for climate mitigation efforts. 

The bill seeks to create a climate change resiliency and adaptability program, tasked with developing and implementing solutions to adapt to and mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change. 

Key components of the program include probabilistic climate risk assessments, a multi-level national educational plan on climate resilience, the link between health and climate change, and ecosystem protection strategies. 

Groups have been calling on the national government to declare a climate emergency in the country. The Philippines is one of the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis, with poor and rural communities bearing the brunt of disasters, 

Senate bills that seek to declare a climate change emergency in the country remain pending at the committee level. 

In October, the government of Albay declared a state of climate emergency in the cyclone-prone province. It committed to reduce the province’s greenhouse gas emissions and prioritize renewable energy investments.

Major cities such as Quezon City and Makati City have also declared a state of climate emergency.