SECRETARY GENERAL, BAN KI-MOON AND EXCELLENCIES, WE SIGN THE PARIS AGREEMENT TODAY WITH FAITH AND HOPE IN THE 196 PARTIES TO THE UNFCCC THAT ADOPTED THE AGREEMENT.

THE PHILIPPINES, A HIGHLY VULNERABLE DEVELOPING NATION, WITH ONE OF THE MOST AMBITIOUS TARGETS, HAS ALREADY TAKEN STEPS TO PURSUE NATIONAL ACTIONS TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE THROUGH ITS INTENDED NATIONALLY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTION OR INDC.

DESPITE FINANCIAL LIM PHILIPPINES HAS ALREADY DEMONSTRATED ITS COMMITMENT TO MEETING ITS PLEDGE WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL CLIMATE ACTION PLAN AND THE INTEGRATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN NATIONAL AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS AND BUDGETS. IT WILL CONTINUE TO CASCADE CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION ACTIONS TO SUB-NATIONAL LEVELS AND TO INVEST IN CLIMATE – RESILIENT LOCAL ECONOMIES, CONSISTENT WITH POST–2015 INTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORKS SUCH AS THE 2030 AGENDA ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, SENDAI FRAMEWORK FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION, AND MOST ESPECIALLY, THIS THIS PARIS AGREEMENT ON CLIMATE CHANGE.

TO SECURE A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE, THE PHILIPPINES IS PURSUING VALUE-ADDING STRATEGIES TO ENSURE THE PROVISION OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND GREEN GROWTH TO ADDRESS POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION. TO THIS END, A GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY MANAGEMENT AND REPORTING SYSTEM IS BEING DEVELOPED TO CREATE A TRANSPARENT, ACCURATE AND COMPARABLE BASELINE OF EMISSIONS.

IT HAS ALSO SUBMITTED RECENTLY ITS ARTICLES OF ACCESSION TO THE DOHA AMENDMENT TO THE KYOTO PROTOCOL.

AS A HIGHLY VULNERABLE COUNTRY, PHILIPPINES HAS COMMITTED EARLY TO CONTRIBUTING ITS FAIR SHARE TO THE GLOBAL ACTION CONSISTENT WITH THE CLIMATE VULNERABLE FORUM’S MANILA-PARIS DECLARATION WHICH CALLS FOR A MITIGATION GOAL OF BELOW 1.5 DEGREES CELSIUS AND FULL DECARBONIZATION AND 100% RENEWABLE ENERGY PRODUCTION BY 2050.

TOO MUCH IS AT STAKE. DEVELOPED COUNTRIES THEREFORE NEED TO DO MORE IN TERMS OF DRAMATICALLY RAISING THEIR NDC AMBITION COMPATIBLE WITH THE 1.5-DEGREES CELSIUS THRESHOLD, AS WELL AS RAISING FUNDING CONTRIBUTION TO THE CLIMATE ACTION PLANS OF VULNERABLE COUNTRIES, WHICH REQUIRE ADEQUATE, PREDICTABLE AND SUSTAINABLE FINANCING. THE PHILIPPINES ALSO URGES DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ALIKE TO TAKE URGENT PRE-2020 ACTION.

FINALLY, TO ECHO PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT BENIGNO AQUINO, THE PHILIPPINE CONTRIBUTION TO THE GLOBAL PROBLEM THAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE IS ADMITTEDLY A DROP IN THE WELL. BUT LIKE THE DROPLETS IN THE OCEAN, THE CONCERTED EFFORTS OF ALL PARTIES CAN SURELY MITIGATE THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. THEREFORE THE PHILIPPINES STRONGLY URGES ALL COUNTRIES TO BUILD UPON THE MOMENTUM FROM PARIS AND WORK TOGETHER TOWARD FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS AGREEMENT.

THANK YOU AND MABUHAY! 

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