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April 16, 2021
MANILA, April 16 (Reuters) - The Philippines announced on Friday that it was raising its objective for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent by 2030 as part of its commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement, up from a target of 70 percent established four years ago. The new objective was described as "ambitious" by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, who also chairs the country's Climate Change Commission, however several environmental campaigners urged the government to do more.
When broken down, 72.29 percent of the aim is contingent on wealthy countries providing climate money, technologies, and capacity development, as required by the Paris Agreement.
The Paris Agreement, which went into effect in 2016, aims to change the world's fossil-fuel-dependent economy within decades and keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius.
The Philippines ratified the agreement in 2017, allowing Manila access to the Green Climate Fund, which aims to channel billions of dollars to help poor nations tackle global warming.
The remaining 2.71% of the target should be implemented mainly through domestic resources, the Department of Finance said in a statement.
Under a "business-as-usual" scenario, the government estimates the Southeast Asian country's overall emissions during the 2020-2030 period will be 3,340.3 metric tones of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e).
Greenpeace, however, called on the government to do more and for the Department of Energy to speed up the country's energy transition.
"Following the administration's pronouncements to fast track renewable energy and for a moratorium on new coal proposals, the energy department should be doing much more to put their words into action," the environmental organization said in a statement.
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