We, the Filipino Youth, believe that climate change is a social justice issue and demand that the Government of the Philippines in cooperation with all parties to the UNFCCC to ratify the Paris Agreement and take action specifically on the following points to address sustainably and equitably the causes and impacts of climate change:
Mitigation
We strongly recommend that Parties to the Paris Agreement update their submitted Intended Nationally Determined Contributions to address the significant gap between pledges and aggregate emissions pathways consistent with holding global temperature increase to well below 2 degrees and develop and adapt an institutionalized pathway to 1.5 degrees using the best available science by 2020.
We strongly recommend that the Philippine government cease all projected expansion of coal power capacities and outline a feasible plan to retire all operational coal-fired power plants by 2030, in line with the Philippine’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC).
We recommend that the government promote and expand existing incentives and subsidies in the Renewable Energy sector as mandated by Republic Act No. 9513 (Renewable Energy Law) to achieve a desirable low-carbon energy mix in the near future.
We demand the implementation of carbon crediting scheme and the imposition of carbon tax on commerce, industries, and motor vehicles to directly offset carbon dioxide (CO2) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and provide financing for climate change mitigation projects.
We call for the protection of the ancestral domains of the diverse group of indigenous people (IPs) in the Philippines against land conversion and exploitative industrial practices by foreign and local business entities. These protected areas can potentially serve as carbon sinks through effective forestry and land management.
We encourage the integration of climate change and other related topics such as Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Environmental Protection, Renewable Energy, and Sustainable Developments as a part of both Science and Humanities subject in the basic and higher education academic curriculum of the Philippine Education System.
We urge the transportation sector to drastically decrease their tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions by supporting cleaner alternatives to petroleum-derived fuels like Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), and Biofuels; And promote public mass transit systems as an alternative to private motor vehicle transport.
We promote the use of indigenous natural and sustainably-sourced materials over petrochemical-based materials such as synthetic fibers, polymers (plastics), and polystyrene foams (styrofoams) to mitigate the global warming potential from the use and release of chemicals such as Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in the processing and disposal of said materials. Likewise, we also promote recycling and efficient waste disposal and management systems.
Adaptation
We emphasize the need for an inventory of best sustainable adaptation practices and preservation of indigenous knowledge accessible to public.
We emphasize that adaptation is an integral strategy that Philippines needs to prioritize to properly implement adaptive responses to the impacts of climate change and recommend that it strengthen its National Climate Change Adaptation Plan.
We endorse that adaptation strategies that are mainstreamed should always be linked to capacity-building of all members of the community by strengthening the existing education and information dissemination program.
We strongly recommend that science-based research and development should also be promoted to discover new innovations and improve existing technologies that could be useful for adaptation measures. We demand that there should be an institutionalized balance between mitigation and adaptation in the provisions under the technology framework of the Paris Agreement.
We encourage innovations in green architecture and infrastructure and institutionalize sustainable urban and rural planning.
We recommend that disaster risk reduction and management be strengthened to improve climate resiliency.
We strongly proposed that the government agencies and non-government agencies, the private sector, and the general public, be equipped with sufficient technologies to efficiently respond to extreme weather events and avoid its unnecessary consequences.
Loss and Damage
We demand that Annex 1 countries provide specific forms of compensation to countries most vulnerable to climate change, depending on the degree of their vulnerability, for reconstructing infrastructure and improving climate resiliency for both slow-onset events extreme weather events.
We recommend that parties to the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement strengthen existing mechanisms for enhancing understanding, action, and support, such as early warning systems, comprehensive risk assessment and management, and risk insurance facilities, to minimize or eliminate losses of lives and property, in lieu of future disasters
We recommend that Parties should create mechanisms for countries to formulate national rehabilitation plans, focusing on mechanisms for easier access to funding for infrastructure reconstruction and psychological recovery, recognizing the importance of rehabilitation in any long-term strategy for improving climate resilience in local communities.
We support the creation of stronger mechanisms for the inclusion of citizens residing in localities that suffered losses and damages to any local, national, or even international decision-making processes, with the support of civil society organizations
We strongly urge the parties to the Agreement to consider establishing a legal basis for liability for the losses and damages suffered by vulnerable countries due to impacts of climate change.
MEANS OF
IMPLEMENTATION
On Capacity building:
1. We recommend that governments continue strengthening the level of grassroots awareness on climate change through community- based and sector- specific information campaigns.
2. We recommend that governments facilitate national community-based monitoring, reporting, and verification schemes of the implementation of existing international agreements on the reduction of carbon emissions and to include local representatives from all sectors in the national accounting of greenhouse gas emissions.
On Climate Finance:
1. In the context of mobilizing $100 billion by 2020, we deem it an imperative to conduct periodic assessment and public accounting of available funding sources such as the Green Climate Fund, government, bilateral and multilateral institutions, private sector funding including leveraged climate investments to substantially clarify its projections, methodologies and guidelines and to streamline the process for community access, enable grant- based financing and allotment of proposed research initiatives and benchmarking activities. We recommend again that local representatives from all sectors should be involved in this.
On Technology transfer:
1. We demand that developed countries facilitate the diffusion of existing knowledge, good practices and technologies for sustainable development by eliminating barriers to information flow without breaching the Intellectual Property Rights.
2. We demand that bearers should prioritize the supply of energy technologies needed by the vulnerable sectors of developing countries.
Signed
137 youth leaders and participants to the Youth Beyond Paris and Future Negotiators Training
