State of Philippine Climate, Action and Support
The Climate Change Commission compiles climate data and information and prepares reports on the state of the Philippine climate, the policies and measures being undertaken by public and private institutions to address climate change, and the support received, mobilized, and planned for agents and stakeholders of climate action at the national, sectoral, and subnational level to implement their climate initiatives. These support the monitoring of the country’s progress in terms of anticipatory climate change adaptation and greenhouse gas mitigation, and evaluation of the scope and impacts of climate change mainstreaming across various levels and geographical scales.
State of the Climate
Climate Change and the Philippines Executive Brief
With extreme climate-induced hazards the Philippines experiences annually, and with further threats looming due to slow onset events, public institutions are all hands-on-deck in ensuring a safe and sustainable future for all Filipinos.
This Climate Change and the Philippines Executive Brief prepared by the Climate Change Commission highlights the key findings of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, the impacts of climate change in the Philippines, and the actions undertaken by the government of the Philippines to address climate change.
Climate Data and Information
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) as the agency mandated to conduct observations, collection, assessment, and processing of atmospheric, astronomical, and other weather-related phenomena and provide science and technology-based assessments as essential inputs to planning and decision-making on disaster risk reduction and mitigation and climate change adaptation per Executive Order No. 128, s.1987 and Executive Order No.366, s.2004, regularly monitors, analyzes, and provides reports on the current and future state of the Philippine climate based on scientific observations and assessments. These include hydrometeorological data and forecasts as well as climate projections.
PAGASA climate data, reports, and advisories are available here.
The latest Philippine Climate Extremes Report 2020 is available here.
Top 10 Climate Risks of the Philippines
In 2021, the National Panel of Technical Experts (NPTE) identified the top ten (10) climate-induced risks being faced by the Philippines, namely: (a) sea level rise, (b) coastal erosion, (c) flooding, (d) increase in frequency and severity of tropical cyclones, (e) extreme drought, (f) temperature increase and rising urban heat index, (g) extreme rainfall, (h) climate influenced diseases, (i) wind patterns, and (j) biodiversity loss. The Climate Change Commission is developing and implementing an action plan to address these risks and define urgent and long term measures.
The top ten (10) climate-induced risks were adopted by the Climate Change Commission in its Commission Resolution 2021-010.
National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Reports
The Philippine Greenhouse Gas Inventory Management and Reporting System (PGHGIMRS), issued through Executive Order No. 174 in November 2014, sets institutional arrangements for GHG inventory preparation and reporting. Headed by the Climate Change Commission, institutional arrangements, reporting templates, and worksheets have been prepared for each of the focus sectors: Agriculture, Waste, Industry, Transportation, Forestry and Energy (AWIT-FE).
Sectoral GHG Inventory Teams, specifically in the Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use, Waste, Industrial Processes and Product Use, Transport, and Energy sectors, constituted through policy issuances of ministries leading these sectors, are the sectoral institutional arrangements supporting the implementation of the PGHGIMRS.
The Philippine Greenhouse Gas Inventory Management and Reporting System Secretariat, lodged in the Climate Change Commission, facilitates capacity building of sectoral agencies and leads the compilation of national greenhouse gas inventory reports. National greenhouse gas inventory reports are available here.
Philippine Climate Change Assessment (PhilCCA)
The Philippine Climate Change Assessment (PhilCCA) prepared by Oscar M Lopez Center (OMLC) in partnership with the Climate Change Commission (CCC) is a three-volume report synthesizing “scientific information from international and local literature to provide an assessment of climate change for the Philippines and identify gaps in the scientific literature.” The report can serve as a guide for making strategic decisions by utilizing comprehensive information on climate change science. A scientific basis enables decision-makers to develop appropriate actions in response to a changing earth.
Localized climate knowledge is crucial because while climate change is a global issue, its effects to different regions vary. From the assessment, the state of climate science in the country is still in its infancy. Highlighting the need to support on-going local research activities, efforts are underway to fill gaps in knowledge on the effects of climate change. These reports give a thorough scientific view of the current state of knowledge on climate change in the country.
State of Climate Action
The National Framework Strategy on Climate Change (NFSCC) 2011-2022, formulated in accordance with the Climate Change Act as amended, is the country’s framework for climate change action and the basis of the National Climate Change Action Plan. It gives emphasis on adaptation as pillar to addressing climate change impacts but taking into account mitigation as a key function of adaptation. It puts a prime on monitoring and evaluation as means to track progress of climate action at the national, subnational, and sectoral levels and is set to be reviewed every three years.
Click here to know more about the NFSCCC
The National Climate Change Action Plan 2011-2028, formulated in accordance with the Climate Change Act as amended, is the country’s agenda towards enhancing adaptive capacity of communities, resilience of natural ecosystems, and sustainability of built environment to climate change and successful transition towards climate-smart development. It translates the NFSCC through concrete action plans in addressing climate change impacts along seven (7) thematic priorities; food security, water sufficiency, ecological and environmental stability, human security, climate-smart industries and services, sustainable energy, and knowledge and capacity development. It is accompanied by a results framework which include the indicators to track outcomes outlined in the NCCAP including gender considerations, and is set to be monitored and reviewed annually, every three years, and six years.
The Climate Change Commission monitors and evaluates the implementation of the NCCAP. Click here to know more about the NCCAP and the results of its monitoring and evaluation for FYs 2011-2015.
The National Climate Risk Management Framework, made effective through CCC Resolution No. 2019-001, puts forward a harmonized, integrated, multi-stakeholder, and science-based governance approach in managing risks to climate change. It attempts to set an agenda for risk assessment in the domains of (i) probabilistic climate risk assessment, (ii) climate risk evaluation, and (iii) climate risk management action formulation. Through this, normative measures of climate risk useful for planning and programming and minimizing challenges in tracking and reporting accomplishments in adaptation across sectors and levels of government can be accomplished.
Click here to know more about the NCRMF.
In terms of medium-term and long-term development plans and priorities, the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022 highlights climate change as a major issue for development and, thus, integrated climate change and disaster risk reduction strategies in most of its chapters including a chapter on improving ecological integrity, where climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies to building resilience are elaborated. In addition, the Philippines has released its “Ambisyon Natin 2040” – a document that represents the collective long- term vision and aspirations of the country for the next 25 years. This vision shall be the guide and anchor of the country’s development planning, particularly in developing the Philippine Development Plan that contains country’s strategies, indicators, and target milestones for development in the next six years, articulated and monitored through its Results Matrix (RM).
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) prepares and consolidates the Philippine Development Plan and its Results Matrix which are available here.
Sustainability Reporting Guidelines for Publicly Listed Companies, issued through Securities and Exchange Commission Memorandum Circular No. 04 s.2019 requires all publicly listed companies to report information on non-financial performance aspects of their companies (e.g. economic, environmental, and social) and contributions towards development and sustainability targets such as the Sustainable Development Goals and the Philippine Development Plan. It reflects international sustainability reporting frameworks from the Global Reporting Initiative, International Reporting Council, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issues and oversees policies and implementation of Sustainability Reporting for Publicly Listed Companies, which are available here.
State of Climate Means of Implementation
Public Climate Finance
National Climate Change Expenditure Tagging (CCET), a framework on tracking the country’s climate expenditures issued through Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and CCC Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2015-01, aims to mainstream climate budget tagging in the budget cycle of the government, and thus mandates the national government agencies (NGAs), state universities and colleges (SUCs), and government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) to track climate change related expenditures through the use of Climate Change Expenditures Tagging Guidelines (CCET).
The National CCET Helpdesk, lodged in the Climate Change Commission, conducts regular capacity building and provides technical advisory services to NGAs, SUCs, and GOCCs on climate change expenditure tagging. The National CCET Helpdesk also monitors public climate expenditures at the agency request, national expenditure program, and general appropriations level, which are available here.
Local Climate Change Expenditure Tagging (CCET), similar to the National CCET, issued through DBM, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and CCC Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2015-01, mandates local governments to tag their climate change adaptation and mitigation programs in their annual investment plans (AIP).
The Local CCET Helpdesk, lodged in the Climate Change Commission, conducts regular capacity building and provides technical advisory services to local government units (LGUs) on climate change expenditure tagging. The Local CCET Helpdesk also monitors public climate expenditures of LGUs, which are available here.