Honor Paris accord, nat’l scientist urges Duterte

DUMAGUETE CITY—The Philippines must honor the international treaty on climate change to show a good example to other nations, the country’s national scientist said on Wednesday.

“If we don’t abide by the Paris Agreement, we will contribute to the worsening increase in temperature that will endanger the whole world,” said marine expert Dr. Angel C. Alcala.

President Duterte said he would not honor the Philippines’ commitment to sign the Paris Agreement, which was reached by nearly 200 countries in Paris last December.

The agreement binds signatory nations to cutting down carbon emissions to contain global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, past which temperature rises would be irreversible.

Mr. Duterte said his administration would not honor the agreement, as it would restrict the economic development of the Philippines.

He blamed developing countries for carbon emissions that are raising temperatures.

Alcala recalled that right after the May 9 elections, Mr. Duterte said he would honor all international agreements that past administrations had entered into, including the Paris Agreement on climate change.

“Now it looks like … he has changed his mind,” Alcala said.

“We should respect international agreements. Otherwise, we would be no different from other nations, big and small, [that cause] the rise in temperatures to dangerous levels of 2 degrees or [higher],” said Alcala, who is also chair of Silliman University Angelo King Center for Research and Environmental Management.

Good example

“Whether or not we are a nonpolluter—because we don’t produce as much carbon dioxide as the industrialized nations—we should be in unity with other countries by showing a good example on a globally important environmental issue,” he said.

“Industrialization can continue as planned if there are provisions for sequestering the carbon dioxide produced through activities like planting more areas with forest trees, and protecting our existing tropical rainforests,” he added.

Mr. Duterte said other countries “reached the apex” of industrialization, emitting contaminants along the way, and now were “trying to stymie our growth that says you can go only up to here—that’s stupid.”

But Sen. Leila de Lima on Wednesday called on Mr. Duterte to change his stand and honor the Paris Agreement.

“The Philippines, which is a signatory to the Paris Agreement, stands to benefit more from honoring our commitment to this international agreement not only in terms of financial aid but also in technology transfer and capacity-building assistance for disaster mitigation,” De Lima said.

De Lima placed the climate change deal in parallel with the ruling last week of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in favor of the Philippines in the dispute with China in the South China Sea.

“As head of state, President Duterte should honor the Paris Agreement if we also want other countries to rally behind us in our monumental victory in the [South China Sea] arbitration case,” she said.

‘Not zero-sum game’

Commenting on Mr. Duterte’s fear that the temperature cap set in the Paris Agreement would stunt the economic growth of the Philippines, De Lima said it was “not a zero-sum game.”

“We can still grow our economy and achieve [growth] without compromising our commitment and industrial growth toward combating climate change,” she said. With a report from  Tarra Quismundo in Manila