DRR bares plan to curb climate change

Daraga, Albay - The Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) recently launched strategies to address the impacts of climate change.

Government efforts include National Framework Strategy on Climate Change which is the basis for the action plan for the climate change planning to protect vulnerable communities from the adverse effects of climate change.

The National Climate Change Action Plan is established to create a climate risk-resilient and adaptive Philippines. The Climate Finance Group is set up to efficiently manage foreign funding for climate change program.

Escobar cited the impacts of climate to a diverse range of sectors. In Agriculture, too much or too little rain can lead to decrease in crop yield that can affect food supply. In Biodiversity, certain species might not survive in areas where temperature is changing, which would lead to the change in the composition of species of a certain ecosystem.

Human activities contribute to this changes, Escobar said. “We are experiencing sea level rise and the rise in temperatures and increase in the frequency and intensity of weather events like droughts and amount of rainfall.”

DRR gave examples on how the public could help in fighting climate change. These include walking or using a bicycle to commute, cleaning the refrigerator regularly, not setting the thermostat higher than what is necessary, and minimizing the use of home appliances that consume high energy.

“We should cooperate in mitigating climate change and its possible effects to the people and to the environment,” Escobar concluded.