Philippine Daily Inquirer
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Friday endorsed a climate change mitigation plan that requires drastic cuts on garbage generation in cities and provinces to reduce carbon emissions.
The plan calls for massive reforestation, the closure of open dumps, and support for the campaign to reduce garbage generated by households and business establishments.
Arroyo met Environment Secretary Lito Atienza and Heherson Alvarez, presidential adviser on global warming and climate change, here at the end of a Luzon tour that began with a mass in Lubao, Pampanga, and a trip to Cagayan, where she addressed the economic potentials of the Cagayan River.
The government, Alvarez said, had focused on reforestation to curb the Philippines’ carbon emissions because trees absorb carbon dioxide.
But recent studies exposed the government to the contribution of open garbage dumps on the weather, Atienza said.
Methane released by garbage dumps is “21 times more lethal” than emissions from vehicles.
Alvarez said other countries are willing to grant the Philippines financial aid in exchange for cutting carbon emissions by preserving forests, planting trees, and reducing garbage generation.
Methane, like carbon dioxide, also accounts for abnormal weather patterns attributed to climate change, said Atienza, who briefed the chief executive and the city’s village officials at the presidential Mansion here.
Atienza told the village officials that correcting the city’s solid waste management program is tied closely to the government’s commitment to cut carbon emissions.
Baguio has been burdened by a garbage crisis since 2008 and has been spending millions of pesos in hauling trash to a commercial landfill in Tarlac.
Like Baguio, the rest of the country has barely complied with the ecological solid waste management law, and still generates 30,000 tons of garbage daily, representing 678 tons of methane introduced daily to the atmosphere, Atienza said.
Provinces and towns still operate 900 open or controlled landfills, when the law requires local governments to develop ecological sanitary landfills. This meant that only 2.8 percent of local governments have complied with the law, he said.
Arroyo allocated P2.8 billion to help finance the solid waste management projects of all local governments.
She said Malacañang would shoulder 20 to 40 percent of the waste management projects of local governments.
“Consider this a centennial gift for a centennial city,” she told Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr.
But reforestation remains the primary solution to climate change in the Philippines, said Alvarez.
Mario Mendoza, national director of forest management service of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said the country needs to replenish 6.2 million hectares of forest cover.
Mendoza said the DENR is also pursuing a funding scheme to sustain the government’s reforestation program, including a climate change mitigation fee and a user’s tax for pollution generated by extractive industries.
In Cagayan, Arroyo urged local officials to tap the Cagayan River basin, which could serve as a fishery and agribusiness center.
She said Cagayan has been touted as the hottest place in the country, yet its river basin remains very fertile and is best suited for various livelihood activities.
“It is said that Cagayan is the hottest province in the country. This is because it is [located] between two mountain ranges that drive away the cooler air,” she said.
She also led the launching of a coconut plantation project in Lallo town in Cagayan Valley. The project aims to generate funds to plant coconut saplings as livelihood support for Cagayan farmers.
When in Cebu City, please visit gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs.
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Friday endorsed a climate change mitigation plan that requires drastic cuts on garbage generation in cities and provinces to reduce carbon emissions.
The plan calls for massive reforestation, the closure of open dumps, and support for the campaign to reduce garbage generated by households and business establishments.
Arroyo met Environment Secretary Lito Atienza and Heherson Alvarez, presidential adviser on global warming and climate change, here at the end of a Luzon tour that began with a mass in Lubao, Pampanga, and a trip to Cagayan, where she addressed the economic potentials of the Cagayan River.
The government, Alvarez said, had focused on reforestation to curb the Philippines’ carbon emissions because trees absorb carbon dioxide.
But recent studies exposed the government to the contribution of open garbage dumps on the weather, Atienza said.
Methane released by garbage dumps is “21 times more lethal” than emissions from vehicles.
Alvarez said other countries are willing to grant the Philippines financial aid in exchange for cutting carbon emissions by preserving forests, planting trees, and reducing garbage generation.
Methane, like carbon dioxide, also accounts for abnormal weather patterns attributed to climate change, said Atienza, who briefed the chief executive and the city’s village officials at the presidential Mansion here.
Atienza told the village officials that correcting the city’s solid waste management program is tied closely to the government’s commitment to cut carbon emissions.
Baguio has been burdened by a garbage crisis since 2008 and has been spending millions of pesos in hauling trash to a commercial landfill in Tarlac.
Like Baguio, the rest of the country has barely complied with the ecological solid waste management law, and still generates 30,000 tons of garbage daily, representing 678 tons of methane introduced daily to the atmosphere, Atienza said.
Provinces and towns still operate 900 open or controlled landfills, when the law requires local governments to develop ecological sanitary landfills. This meant that only 2.8 percent of local governments have complied with the law, he said.
Arroyo allocated P2.8 billion to help finance the solid waste management projects of all local governments.
She said Malacañang would shoulder 20 to 40 percent of the waste management projects of local governments.
“Consider this a centennial gift for a centennial city,” she told Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr.
But reforestation remains the primary solution to climate change in the Philippines, said Alvarez.
Mario Mendoza, national director of forest management service of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said the country needs to replenish 6.2 million hectares of forest cover.
Mendoza said the DENR is also pursuing a funding scheme to sustain the government’s reforestation program, including a climate change mitigation fee and a user’s tax for pollution generated by extractive industries.
In Cagayan, Arroyo urged local officials to tap the Cagayan River basin, which could serve as a fishery and agribusiness center.
She said Cagayan has been touted as the hottest place in the country, yet its river basin remains very fertile and is best suited for various livelihood activities.
“It is said that Cagayan is the hottest province in the country. This is because it is [located] between two mountain ranges that drive away the cooler air,” she said.
She also led the launching of a coconut plantation project in Lallo town in Cagayan Valley. The project aims to generate funds to plant coconut saplings as livelihood support for Cagayan farmers.
When in Cebu City, please visit gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs.
