Philippines - National planning on short-lived climate pollutants

Participants in group discussion during the Organizational Workshop for SLCP Reduction using Open Space Method, 17-18 July 2017.

Workstream:

Ongoing

started:

2018

Comprising of over 7,500 islands in the Pacific Ocean, the Southeast Asian country of the Philippines is increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change from sea level rise, extreme weather events, and rising temperatures. At the same time, the population of over 100 million people remain at risk to air pollution levels that exceed Worth Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, particularly in urban centers. According to the WHO, the Western Pacific Region loses 2.7 million lives each year due to air pollution, which represents 41% of deaths attributable to air pollution globally. Without intervention, these impacts are expected to worsen with projected economic and population growth.

The Philippines is taking ambitious action to address its air pollution and climate change challenges simultaneously and in ways that complement its development priorities. In addition to plans and programs already developed, like the National Strategy to Reduce SLCPs from the Municipal Solid Waste Sector, the Philippines is developing a National SLCP Plan to significantly reduce black carbon, methane, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). A number of mitigation measures are being identified in priority sectors, which include transport, agriculture, waste and energy. Implementation pathways for these measures will subsequently be developed in collaboration with sectoral stakeholders.

Objectives

The SNAP Initiative’s objective is to provide technical assistance and funding for the Philippines to undertake a national planning process on short-lived climate pollutants, specifically:

Strengthen coordination and action on short-lived climate pollutants
Identify major emission sources, their likely evolution and mitigation potential
Assess the co-benefits of action
Prioritise the most relevant measures at national scale
Identify ways to promote and implement these mitigation measures
Incorporate short-lived climate pollutants into existing plans and activities where they are not currently considered

What we're doing

National SLCP Planning: Phase 1 Ongoing

In 2018, a Cooperation Agreement was signed between the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the DENR . The agreement aims to enhance national capacity for action to reduce SLCPs, create national and regional awareness on SLCPs among relevant stakeholders, and leverage financial support for SLCP mitigation and NDC implementation programs. Several stakeholder consultations were organized resulting in a first draft SLCP Plan. An initial training on the LEAP-IBC tool took place in April 2018 and will be complemented with follow-up online and in-person trainings.

A planning meeting was held in Manila in July 2019 with the CCAC Secretariat, DENR, UNEP, the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Clean Air Asia, the departments of transport and energy, and academic institutions to further define the scope of activities and the stakeholders to be involved.

The project objectives include the development of a national SLCP plan that outlines how mitigation can fit into existing policy processes, and be integrated into existing climate and air quality strategies and sector plans. Integrated air quality and climate planning will take place in collaboration with the Air Quality Management Section – Environmental Quality Management Division and the Climate Change Division of the Environmental Management Bureau of DENR using the LEAP IBC tool, and the creation and maintenance of sustainable modelling capacity. This will allow the model to continuously support future NDC development and SLCP strategies and air quality planning, as well as provide the ability to develop integrated air quality and climate change strategies which identify the multiple benefits of action in line with national development plans. A team of local consultants will be recruited in order to support the development of the project.

The planning process aims to build capacity to help develop the Nationally Determined Contribution of the Philippines over the next five years. The Climate Change Commission (CCC) will receive sectoral results and plans for evaluating SLCPs, and a joint database will be developed in collaboration with the University of the Philippines National Engineering Centre.