Climate Change Consciousness Week 2022 kicks off

The 15th Global Warming and Climate Change Consciousness Week (CCC Week) kicked off Monday, 21 November 2022 with top environment official Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, climate change and environment champion Senator Loren Legarda, Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources Chair Senator Cynthia Villar, and House of Representatives Committee on Climate Change Chair Bohol First District Representative Edgar Chatto scheduled to address the event.

With the theme “Sama-samang Tumutugon sa Hamon ng Nagbabagong Klima,” the opening ceremony draws together various climate change and environment stakeholders in the Philippines in a collective push towards transforming climate change commitments into action towards a climate smart and climate resilient Philippines by 2050.

Secretary Yulo-Loyzaga has been designated the Official Representative of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. in the Climate Change Commission.

Secretary Yulo-Loyzaga was Executive Director of the Manila Observatory, the President of the National Resilience Council, a member of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s (UNDRR) Asia Pacific Science Technology Advisory Group and a Director of the UNDRR’s Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies (ARISE).

Senate President Pro-Tempore Loren Legarda is recognized as a “Game Changer for Asia,’ a champion for climate change action and the environment, “Global Thinker,” voice for indigenous peoples, a women and children’s rights champion, and a passionate advocate.

Senator Legarda has worked for the enactment of key legislation on climate change, environment, and disaster governance, including the Clean Air Act, the Solid Waste Management Act, the Climate Change Act and the Philippine Disaster Risk and Management Act.

She is also recognized globally for good environmental governance. She is the UNDRR Global Champion for Resilience, the UNFCCC National Adaptation Plan Champion, Commissioner of the Global Commission on Adaptation and Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) Ambassador for Parliaments.

Senator Cynthia Villar is the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources since 2013 and the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food.

Senator Villar was instrumental in the enactment of the Extended Producer Responsibility bill for plastics and other waste.

She was founder and Chair of the Villar Foundation (now the Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance). Villar SIPAG’s key program thrusts and projects included environment protection and the establishment of the Las Pinas-Paranaque Wetland Park.

Bohol First District Representative Edgar Chatto is the Chairperson of the House Committee on Climate Change.

During his chairmanship of the Committee during the 18th Congress, he pushed for the declaration of a state of environmental and climate emergency and championed the call for the Philippines to seek climate justice.

As Vice Governor of Bohol, he led the passage of the Bohol Environment Code. Moreover, during his tenure as Bohol governor, an ordinance was passed that prohibited the establishment of a coal-fueled power plant here in the province.

The opening ceremony will be immediately followed by the Climate Investment Forum, 2022 which will bring together various stakeholders to identify strategies in achieving the Philippine Nationally Determined Contribution targets, priority actions on climate finance, and opportunities for climate action.

Other activities to be held during the CCC Week include training-of-trainers on the formulation of enhanced Local Climate Change Action Plan on (21-25 November 2022); Leveraging Local Budgets in the Context of COVID-19 Recovery and Sustainable Environmental Management Webinar (22 November 2022); the 11th National Panel of Technical Experts Forum (23 November 2022); and Kaalamang Klima: Climate Change Webinar Workshop for the Youth (25 November 2022).

Partnerships with Aboitiz Equity Ventures and Aboitiz Foundation, Inc., and the University of the Philippines Resilience Institute (UPRI) will also be formalized and signed during the week.

CCC Week began Saturday, November 19, with a Thanksgiving Mass and Tree Planting and Growing Activity in the La Mesa Nature Reserve. CCC officials, staff, and representatives from various groups planted 200 Narra, Dao, and Sablot seedlings to contribute to the improvement of the country’s carbon sinks and reservoirs.

Pursuant to Presidential Proclamation 1667 s. 2008, the CCC spearheads the annual observance of the Global Warming and Climate Change Consciousness Week every November 19th to 25th, aimed at raising consciousness on addressing the impacts of the changing climate.

For more information about the upcoming CCC Week 2022 activities, visit the CCC social media pages at @cccphl.