Rich countries must pay for climate change damage – Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — Rich, industrialized countries that produce the most carbon emissions should pay smaller countries like the Philippine reparations for the damage caused by climate change, President Rodrigo Duterte said during his taped weekly “Talk to the People” briefing that aired on Monday.

“Our carbon emissions are just point-zero something, while the industrialized countries are producing much more,” Duterte said, speaking in a mix of Filipino and English. “The problem is the consequences are being suffered by all.”

“Unfortunately, they are the ones producing the biggest pollution. We produce so little. We have only so many factories here. We have none — little or nil to nothing. And yet you will see that the result or consequence of pollution — number one, created by factories even cars. We produce the least pollution but we suffer the most,” he added.

“We are really the one paying for it the most. The pollution produced by other countries we are the ones who catch. In terms of damage, we are the most gravely affected,” he went on.

Duterte made the remarks after some parts of the Philippines, particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao area, were hit by a tropical cyclone — Agaton (internationally known as Megi) — in the midst of the dry season.

The storm left at least 172 dead and 110 more were missing.

The town of Panay in Capiz and all other municipalities and the capital Roxas City had the worst flooding in recent memory due to heavy and continuous rains dumped by Tropical Storm Agaton (Megi) on April 10, 2022. (Photo the Office of Civil Defense Western Visayas)

Duterte had previously blamed climate change for the severe weather disturbances that had been causing massive flooding in several areas in the Philippines.

So he proposed that the richer countries pay for the disasters suffered by poorer countries — to “equalize the damage.”

“The rich countries that are not affected by the destruction caused by pollution should pay us for the damage. They should find a way to equalize the damage,” he said. “The damage we have is bigger even though our contribution to climate change is smaller.”

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