President Benigno Aquino III is one of the few Asian leaders invited to the United Nations’ climate change conference in Paris in December, but he might not make it because of an extreme environmental phenomenon.
Experts have warned that the El Niño this year might was well be one of the strongest in 65 years. As sea surface temperatures rise in the Pacific Ocean, El Niño is expected to cause drought in some parts of the world and unusually heavy rains in others.
READ: El Niño could be strongest in history
During the Meet Inquirer Multimedia forum on Monday, Aquino said he still hasn’t decided whether he will accept the French government’s invitation.
“Hindi pa kami sure na tutuloy doon sa COP21 (21st Conference of Parties),” Aquino said.
(We’re not yet sure if we’ll attend the COP21.)
Aquino told Inquirer editors that he was worried that the severe drought will coincide with the Paris talks.
“We’re going to be experiencing the severity of El Niño starting December. Yolanda—it’s a continuing process,” he explained.
Earlier, the Department of Agriculture reported that losses in rice and corn crops have amounted to P3.3 billion this year.
READ: Farm losses from El Niño already P3.3B
In an interview with INQUIRER.net last month, Secretary Lucille Sering said only the heads of state of four countries in Southeast Asia were invited to the much-anticipated COP21 or the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
“It just shows how important his attendance is,” Sering said of Aquino.
Aquino joined French President Francois Hollande in the launch of the Call to Action on Climate Change in February. Since it was devastated by typhoon Yolanda in 2013, the Philippines has been the so-called poster boy of countries vulnerable to climate change.
Sering said that Aquino told them that he was interested in attending but had yet to confirm.
The Philippine government is expected to submit within the following weeks its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) or its commitments to reduce the effect of climate change. It is expected to include measures to lessen carbon emissions, despite the Philippines being a low-emission country.
Climate change advocates hope that the COP21 in Paris will result in a legally-binding climate change agreement that would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit the global temperature increase to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Kristine Angeli Sabillo, INQUIRER.net/CDG