Climate Change as Top Development Challenge to Eliminate Extreme Poverty

The National Economic and Development Authority’s head, Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua, was present at the recently concluded Philippine Environment Science Summit 2022. At this summit, Secretary Chua spoke about climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. 

He mentioned, “if we are to eradicate extreme poverty in the Philippines by 2040 and hand down a better planet to our children and grandchildren, climate change adaptation and mitigation needs to be placed at the heart of socio-economic planning,”. 

Secretary Chua identifies the triple planetary crisis as the main obstacle for developing countries. For the Philippines to reach the 2040 goal of eliminating extreme poverty, climate change mitigation and adaptation should be a top priority. 

He mentions that waste and pollution are left in the wake of economic growth, which in turn, harms and kills ecosystems and individuals. 

NEDA has put forward the theme of ‘saving our planet, saving our country” as the next theme of the Philippine Development Plan in an effort to combat the looming climate crisis. 

The administration has drawn up a framework called the Philippine Action Plan for Sustainable Consumption and Production or PAP4SCP in order for the country to move towards more sustainable and environment-friendly behaviors and practices. This plan aims to reach the SDGs or sustainable development goals by utilizing a circular economy approach. 

He also states that “the country will be hard-pressed to address pollution and shift to sustainable consumption and production if there is a large scale of inequality in the country, where the poor cannot afford to eliminate, for instance, the ‘tingi culture,’”. 

To end, Sec Chua calls this the “most pressing crisis of our time.”

Source: Manila Bulletin