INTRODUCTION

Global Warming
The State shall protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology
in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature. (Section 16, Article 2 of the 1987 Philippine
Constitution)
All human beings depend on the environment in which we live. A safe, clean, healthy
and sustainable environment is integral to the full enjoyment of a wide range of human rights,
including the rights to life, health, food, water, environment and sanitation. Without a
healthy environment, we are unable to fulfill our aspirations or even live at a level commensurate
with minimum standards of human dignity. At the same time, protecting human rights helps to
protect the environment. When people are able to learn about, and participate in, the decisions
that affect them, they can help to ensure that those decisions respect their need for a sustainable
environment. In recent years, the recognition of the links between human rights and the
environment has greatly increased. The number and scope of international and domestic laws,
judicial decisions, and academic studies on the relationship between human rights and the
environment have grown rapidly. Many States now incorporate a right to a healthy environment
in their constitutions. Many questions about the relationship of human rights and the
environment remain unresolved, however, and require further examination.
Some treaties that contain environmental obligations for States include the 1972 World
Heritage Convention, the 1985 Vienna Convention, the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances
that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the 1989 Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary
Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, the 1992 Convention on Biological
Diversity. (The Right to a Healthy Environment, thho://www1.umn.edu/humanrts)
Brief History
The history of the scientific discovery of climate change began in the early 19th century
when ice ages and other natural changes in paleoclimate were first suspected and the natural
greenhouse effect first identified. In the late 19th century, scientists first argued that human
emissions of greenhouse gases could change the climate. Many other theories of climate change
were advanced, involving forces from volcanism to solar variation. In the 1960s, the warming
effect of carbon dioxide gas became increasingly convincing, although some scientists also
pointed out that human activities, in the form of atmospheric aerosols (e.g., "pollution"), could
have cooling effects as well. During the 1970s, scientific opinion increasingly favored the
warming viewpoint. By the 1990s, as a result of improving fidelity of computer models and
observational work confirming the Milankovitch theory of the ice ages, a consensus position
formed: greenhouse gases were deeply involved in most climate changes and human caused
emissions were bringing serious global warming. Since the 1990s, scientific research on climate
change has included multiple disciplines and has expanded, significantly increasing our
understanding of causal relations, links with historic data and ability to model climate change
numerically. The most recent work has been summarized in the Assessment Reports by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Climate change is a significant and lasting change
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in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of
years. It may be a change in average weather conditions, or in the distribution of weather around
the average conditions (i.e., more or fewer extreme weather events). Climate change is caused by
factors that include oceanic processes (such as oceanic circulation), biotic processes, variations
in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics and volcanic eruptions, and human-induced
alterations of the natural world; these latter effects are currently causing global warming.
Global Warming is the term used to describe a gradual increase in the average
temperature of the Earths surface and atmosphere. The planet is warming, from North Pole to
South Pole, and everywhere in between. Globally, the mercury is already up more than 1 degree
Fahrenheit (0.8 degree Celsius), and even more in sensitive polar regions. And the effects of
rising temperatures are not waiting for some far-flung future. They are happening right now.
Signs are appearing all over, and some of them are surprising. The heat is not only melting
glaciers and sea ice, its also shifting precipitation patterns and setting animals on the move.
Unless we take immediate action to reduce global warming emissions, these impacts will
continue to intensify, grow ever more costly and damaging, and increasingly affect the entire
planet.
Global Warming: A natural cycle or human result?
Is global warming a natural cycle? Or is global warming affected by human influence?
What does the science say? While it is true that human activities can affect the increase of the
globes temperature, it should also be considered that the world can warm, and cool, without
any human interference. For the past million years this has occurred over and over again at
approximately 100,000 year intervals. About 80-90,000 years of ice age with about 10-20,000
years of warm period, give or take some thousands of years.
Many climatologists and scientists say arctic ice melt and other changes in the Earth's
climate are the result of an increase in the world's temperature, a trend widely called global
warming. Many global warming experts say the phenomenon, if unchecked, is capable of
altering the world's climate and geography. They also believe that the increase is primarily the
result of human activities, like burning fossil fuels, emissions from vehicles and the clearing
of forests. According to Stephen Schneider, a professor of environmental studies, ...science is
settled and humans are at least a majority of the reason behind the global warming.
Alarming Impacts of Global Warming
1. Accelerating sea level rise and increased coastal flooding - Average global sea level
has increased eight inches since 1880, but is rising much faster on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf
of Mexico. Global warming is now accelerating the rate of sea level rise, increasing flooding
risks to low-lying communities and high-risk coastal properties whose development has been
encouraged by today's flood insurance system.
2. Longer and more damaging wildlife seasons - Wildfires are increasing and wildfire
season is getting longer in the as temperatures rise.

3. More frequent and intense heat waves - Dangerously hot weather is already
occurring more frequently than it did 60 years agoand scientists expect heat waves to become
more frequent and severe as global warming intensifies. This increase in heat waves creates
serious health risks, and can lead to heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and aggravate existing medical
conditions.
4. Widespread forest death - Tens of millions of trees have died over the past 15 years,
victims of a climate-driven triple assault of tree-killing insects, wildfires, and stress from heat
and drought.
5. Costly and growing health impacts - Climate change has significant implications for
our health. Rising temperatures will likely lead to increased air pollution, a longer and more
intense allergy season, the spread of insect-borne diseases, more frequent and dangerous heat
waves, and heavier rainstorms and flooding. All of these changes pose serious, and costly, risks
to public health.
6. Increase in extreme weather events - Strong scientific evidence shows that global
warming is increasing certain types of extreme weather events, including heat waves, coastal
flooding, extreme precipitation events, and more severe droughts. Global warming also creates
conditions that can lead to more powerful hurricanes.
7. Heavier precipitation and flooding - As temperatures increase, more rain falls during
the heaviest downpours, increasing the risk of flooding events. Very heavy precipitation events,
defined as the heaviest one percent of storms.
8. More severe droughts in some areas - Climate change affects a variety of factors
associated with drought and is likely to increase drought risk in certain regions. As temperatures
have warmed, the prevalence and duration of drought has increased.
9. Growing risks to our electricity supply - Our aging electricity infrastructure is
increasingly vulnerable to the growing consequences of global warming, including sea level rise,
extreme heat, heightened wildfire risk, and drought and other water supply issues.
10. Disruptions to food supplies - Rising temperatures and the accompanying impacts of
global warming including more frequent heat waves, heavier precipitation in some regions,
and more severe droughts in others has significant implications for crop and meat production.
Global warming has the potential to seriously disrupt our food supply, drive costs upward, and
affect everything from coffee to cattle, from staple food crops to the garden in your backyard.
11. Plant and animal range shifts - A changing climate affects the range of plants and
animals, changing their behavior and causing disruptions up and down the food chain. The range
of some warm-weather species will expand, while those that depend on cooler environments will
face shrinking habitats and potential extinction.

Significance
The Supreme Court of the Philippines rendered an en banc and unanimous decision in the
case of Oposa vs. Factoran. This case is unique in that it is a class suit brought by 44 children,
through their parents, claiming that they bring the case in the name of their generation as well as
those generations yet unborn. This cases concept of intergenerational responsibility was cited
in several cases national and worldwide. Aiming to stop deforestation, it was filed against the
Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, seeking to have him cancel
all the timber license agreements (TLAs) in the country and to cease and desist from accepting
and approving more timber license agreements. The children invoked their right to a balanced
and healthful ecology and to protection by the State in its capacity as parens patriae. The
petitioners claimed that the DENR Secretary's refusal to cancel the TLAs and to stop issuing
them was "contrary to the highest law of humankind-- the natural law-- and violative of
plaintiffs' right to self-preservation and perpetuation." The case was dismissed in the lower court,
invoking the law on non-impairment of contracts, so it was brought to the Supreme Court on
certiorari. The Supreme Court, in ruling the case, said that:
Their personality to sue in behalf of the succeeding generations can only be based on
the concept of intergenerational responsibility insofar as the right to a balanced and healthful
ecology is concerned. Such a right considers rhythm and harmony of nature.
Nature means the created world of in its entirety. Such rhythm and harmony indispensably
include, inter alia, the judicious disposition of the natural resources to the end that their
development be equitably accessible to the present as well as future generations.
Needless to say, every generation has the responsibility to the next to preserve that rhythm
and harmony for the full enjoyment of a balanced and healthful ecology.
Put a little differently, the minors assertion of their right to a sound environment
constitutes, at the same time, the performance of their obligation to ensure the protection of that
right for the generations to come.
As a matter of fact, these basic rights need not even be written in the Constitution for they
are assumed to exist from the inception of human kind.
Generations which stand to inherit nothing but parched earth incapable of sustaining life.
As individuals, we can help by taking action to reduce our personal carbon emissions.
But to fully address the threat of global warming, we must demand action from our elected
leaders to support and implement a comprehensive set of climate solutions. Global warming is a
global issue. Strong action and leadership is critical, but so too are international efforts that work
toward reducing emissions worldwide.

Al Gores An Inconvenient Truth

An Inconvenient Truth by Davis Guggenheim became one of the most successful
documentaries in raising international public awareness of global warming, which dramatically
increased the coverage of climate change by media. In this documentary, Al Gore, the former
vice president of the United States shares his concerns about the rising issue of global warming
and describes his activities as an environment activist to change lifestyles and laws in order to
prevent huge disasters that could happen as results of global warming.
The film includes segments intended to refute critics who say that global warming is
unproven or that warming will be insignificant. For example, Gore discusses the possibility of
the collapse of a major ice sheet in Greenland or in West Antarctica, either of which could raise
global sea levels by approximately 20 feet, flooding coastal areas and producing 100 million
refugees. Melt water from Greenland, because of its lower salinity, could then halt the currents
that keep northern Europe warm and quickly trigger dramatic local cooling there. It also contains
various short animated projections of what could happen to different animals more vulnerable to
global warming.

Gore clearly shows the evidence that the increase in global temperature over the last 100
years is, to a large extent, due to greenhouse gas emissions from human activity. He then presents
the three causes: population, technology and barriers to new thinking.

Al Gore presented some possible consequences if we do not marshal the will power and
institutional action to halt climate changes stemming from global warming:

Deaths from global warming will double in just 25 years to 300,000 people a year.

Global sea levels could rise by more than 20 feet with the loss of the shelf ice in
Greenland and Antarctica, devastating coastal areas worldwide.

Heat waves will be more frequent and more intense.

Droughts and wildfires will occur more often.

Low-lying islands will no longer be habitable due to rising sea levels.

Forests, farms, and cities will face troublesome new pests and more mosquito-borne
diseases.

The Arctic Ocean could be ice free in the summer by 2050.

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More than a million species worldwide could be driven to extinction by 2060 thanks to
disruption of habitats such as coral reefs and alpine meadows.

Gores main point remains clear: whatever the eventual impacts, there is a need to act
immediately to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This can be achieved with current technologies
and in an affordable way, he says, although he presents few specific examples in the film.

The documentary ends with Gore arguing that if appropriate actions are taken soon, the
effects of global warming can be successfully reversed by releasing less CO2 and planting more
vegetation to consume existing CO2. Gore calls upon his viewers to learn how they can help him
in these efforts. Gore concludes the film by saying:

"Each one of us is a cause of global warming, but each one of us can

make choices to change that with the things we buy, the electricity we use, the
cars we drive; we can make choices to bring our individual carbon emissions to
zero. The solutions are in our hands, we just have to have the determination to
make it happen. We have everything that we need to reduce carbon emissions,
everything but political will. But in America, the will to act is a renewable
resource."
Remarkable quotes from the movie:

What we take for granted might not be here for our children.

You see that pale, blue dot? That's us. Everything that has ever happened in all of human
history, has happened on that pixel. All the triumphs and all the tragedies, all the wars all the
famines, all the major advances... it's our only home. And that is what is at stake, our ability to
live on planet Earth, to have a future as a civilization. I believe this is a moral issue, it is your
time to seize this issue, it is our time to rise again to secure our future.

It takes time to connect the dots, I know that. But I also know that there can be a day of
reckoning when you wish you had connected the dots more quickly.

The climate crisis offers us the chance to experience what a very few generations in history
have had the privilege of knowing: a generational mission.

We have everything we need, save perhaps, political will. But, you know what ... political will is
a renewable resource. ... The solutions are in our hands. We just have to have the determination
to make them happen.

I believe this is a moral issue. It is your time to seize this issue. It is our time to rise again, to
secure our future.

Scientists overwhelmingly agree that the Earth is getting warmer, that this trend is caused by
people, and that if we continue to pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the warming will
be increasingly harmful.

Al Gore

Former Vice President Al Gore is co-founder and chairman of Generation Investment

Management. He is a senior partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and a member of
Apple, Inc.s board of directors. Gore spends the majority of his time as chairman of The Climate
Reality Project, a non-profit devoted to solving the climate crisis.

Gore was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976, 1978, 1980 and 1982 and
the U.S. Senate in 1984 and 1990. He was inaugurated as the 45th Vice President of the United
States on January 20, 1993, and served eight years.

As Vice President during the Clinton Administration, Gore pushed for the implementation
of a carbon tax to encourage energy efficiency and diversify the choices of fuel better reflecting
the true environmental costs of energy use; it was partially implemented in 1993. He helped
broker the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty designed to curb greenhouse
gas emissions. The treaty was not ratified in the United States after a 95 to 0 vote in the Senate.
The primary objections stemmed from the exemptions the treaty gave to China and India,
whose industrial base and carbon footprint have grown rapidly, and fears that the exemptions
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would lead to further trade imbalances and offshoring arrangement with those countries.

Gore also supported the funding of the controversial and much-delayed satellite
called Triana, which would have provided an image of the Earth 24 hours a day, over the internet
and would have acted as a barometer measuring the process of global warming. During his 2000
presidential campaign, Gore ran, in part, on a pledge to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.

2015 UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE

The United Nations is a major international organization that helps promulgate such
responsibilities. It has always been serving to create better a world for all off humanity. It has
been a major part in creating and promulgating peace and prosperity since the end of the 2nd
World War. As a united front, the United Nations tackles issues such maintaining international
peace and security & promoting human rights, to name a few.
One of these is climate change. Climate change is the increase of temperature of the
surface of Earth. It is very evident and real in our world, the emission of greenhouse gases are a
proof of it. These greenhouse gases trap the sun's light and heat in the atmosphere, increasing the
Earth's temperature. Greenhouse gases emitting activities like electricity production,
transportation, commercial and residential activities, which comes from burning fuels like coal
and gasoline, and agriculture and forestry, can cause global warming. In this context, we, as a
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human nation, are all responsible for the continuous fight against global warming.
The United Nations Climate Change Conference which was held in 2015 is a testament to
the worlds endeavors in creating a better and sustainable world for this generation and the next.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

UNEP is an agency that coordinates its environmental activities, assisting developing
countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded
by Maurice Strong, its first director, as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human
Environment in June 1972 and has its headquarters in the Gigiri neighbourhood
of Nairobi, Kenya. UNEP also has six regional offices and various country offices.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global
environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent
implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United
Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment.
Goals of UNEP
1) Adapting to Climate Change
UNEP helps countries reduce their vulnerability and use of ecosystem services to
build natural resilience against impact of climate change.
Focuses on incorporating planning, financing and cost-effective preventive actions
into national developmental processes that are supported by scientific information,
local climate data and integrated climate impact assessments.
Example of Projects: Adaptation Capacity, Policy and Planning support and
Ecosystem-based adaptation support.

2) Mitigating Climate Change

UNEP supports countries in making sound policy, technology and investment
choices that lead to GHG emission reductions, with a focus on scaling up clean and
renewable energy sources, energy efficiency and energy conservation.
Helps countries phase out obsolete technologies and deploy cleaner ones, financed
through public and private sources.
Examples of Projects: Deployment of Clean technologies in Developing countries
and Stimulating Private Sector Involvement.
3) REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation)

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UNEP supports developing countries to reduce emissions from deforestation and

degradation through promotion of sustainable forest management
Aims to transform the forest sector and forested landscapes, while improving
livelihoods and providing alternative development pathways.
Goal is to have deforestation halve in 2020.
Example of Projects: REDD+ Flagship, Monitoring and Learning

4) Knowledge and Communication

UNEP works to improve understanding of Climate Change science and raise
awareness of climate change impacts among decision-makers and target audience.
Example of Projects: Scientific Support and Communication and Research.

Kyoto Protocol

Background

The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty emerged from the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which commits its parties by setting
international binding emission reduction targets and has also recognized that the developed
countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the
atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity. It implemented the objective
of UNFCCC to fight global warming by reducing greenhouse gas concentration in the
atmosphere to "a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate
system" and placed a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of "common but
differentiated responsibilities." It puts the obligation to reduce current emissions on developed
countries on the basis that they are historically responsible for the current levels of greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere.

The main goal of Kyoto Protocol is to cut emissions of not only carbon dioxide, but also
other greenhouse gases, which are: Methane (CH 4), Nitrous oxide (N2O), Hydrofluorocarbons
(HFCs), Perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). It is seen as an important first
step towards a truly global emission reduction regime that will stabilize GHG emissions, and can
provide the architecture for the future international agreement on climate change.

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During the first commitment period (January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2012), 37
industrialized countries and the European Community committed to reduce GHG emissions to an
average of five percent against 1990 levels. During the second commitment period (January 1,
2013 December 31, 2020, the parties committed to reduce GHG emissions by at least 18
percent below 1990 levels.

Basic History
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change launched by UN General Assembly
in December 1990 was convened by an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to
conduct negotiations to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that
would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. The convention
was adopted on May 9, 1992. It was opened for signature a month later in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
and finally entered into force on March 21, 1994 after complying with the 50 ratifications
requisite with over near-universal membership of 186 parties.

Since the adoption of the Convention, the parties have continued to negotiate in order to
agree on decisions and conclusions that will advance the implementation on how to limit the
increase of global temperature and how to cope up effectively with its impacts. They have done
so first in the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), and then, since the Conventions
entry into force, in the Conference of the Parties (COP) and its subsidiary bodies, with the main
objective to review to Conventions implementation.

In April 1995, in addition to the routine work on advancing the implementation of the
Convention, the Conference of the Parties at its first session launched a new round of
negotiations, on what was to become the Kyoto Protocol, after realizing that emission reductions
provisions in the Convention were inadequate. The decision, which was called as Berlin
Mandate established commitments in launching a process to take appropriate action beyond
2000 through the adoption of a protocol or another legal instrument. As a result, a substantial
extension to the Convention to strengthen the global response to climate change was adopted in
Kyoto, Japan on December 11, 1997. The Kyoto Protocol, which legally binds the developed and
industrialized countries to emission reduction targets was signed by 84 Parties and has received
39 ratifications. However, it left many of its operational details unresolved. In this, many Annex I
Parties stated that they needed to have a clearer picture of the operational details of the Protocol
before they could ratify it.

In November 2001, the Parties adopted the Marrakesh Accords in Marrakesh, Morocco,
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detailing the rules in the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, setting up new funding and
planning instruments for adaptation, and establishing a technology transfer framework. On
February 16, 2005, the Kyoto Protocol finally entered into force and in accordance with the
Kyoto Protocol requirements, the parties launched negotiations under the Ad Hoc Working
Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP).

In 2012, The Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol was adopted. The amendment
includes new commitments for Annex I Parties to the Kyoto Protocol who agreed to take on
commitments in a second commitment period from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2020, a
revised list of greenhouse gases to be reported on by Parties in the second commitment period
and amendments to several articles of the Kyoto Protocol pertaining to the first commitment
period (started in 2008 and ended in 2012) and which needed to be updated for the second
commitment period.

COP 21 / CMP 11
Why Paris?
"The location of U.N.F.C.C.C. talks is rotated by regions throughout United Nations
countries. The 2015 conference was held at Le Bourget from 30 November to 11 December
2015. To some extent, France served as a model country for delegates attending COP21 because
it is one of the few developed countries in the world to decarbonize electricity production and
fossil fuel energy while still providing a high standard of living. As of 2012, France generated
over 90% of its electricity from zero carbon sources, including nuclear, hydroelectric, and wind.
The conference took place two weeks after a series of terrorist attacks in central Paris. Security
was tightened accordingly, with 30,000 police officers and 285 security checkpoints deployed
across the country until after the conference ended. The European Union and 185 nations were
the participating parties."
The Paris Agreement
During the Paris climate conference (COP21) in December 2015, 195 countries agreed to
partake on a global climate deal that will require deeper emissions reduction commitments from
all countries- developed and developing. This agreement hold countries responsible to their
commitments and mobilize greater investments to assist developing countries in building lowcarbon, climate-resilient economies.
Accordingly, there are three reasons why the nations are making such commitments:

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1. Their citizens are demanding it. The people have enough knowledge that air fouled
with carbon pollution causes death and disease. The Carbon emissions risen the global
temperature by trapping solar energy in the atmosphere, which may result into severe
alteration of water supplies and weather patterns, changes the growing season for food
crops and threatens coastal communities with increasing sea levels.
2. Governments increasingly understand that clean air is vital to a healthy economy.
A city with clean air has a significant competitive advantage over one with dirty air,
because people prefer to live there and companies find it easier to attract talented
workers.
3. As technology advances the economics of clean energy have improved dramatically.
The price of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, LED lighting and electric vehicles has
plummeted, sometimes more than 20% in a year.
Key elements

Mitigation: reducing emissions

Governments agreed

a long-term goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below
2C above pre-industrial levels;
to aim to limit the increase to 1.5C, since this would significantly reduce risks and the
impacts of climate change;
on the need for global emissions to peak as soon as possible, recognizing that this will
take longer for developing countries;
to undertake rapid reductions thereafter in accordance with the best available science.

Transparency and global stocktake

Governments agreed to

come together every 5 years to set more ambitious targets as required by science;
report to each other and the public on how well they are doing to implement their
targets;
track progress towards the long-term goal through a robust transparency and
accountability system.

Adaptation
Governments agreed to

strengthen societies' ability to deal with the impacts of climate change;

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provide continued and enhanced international support for adaptation to developing

countries.

Loss and damage

The agreement also

recognizes the importance of averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage
associated with the adverse effects of climate change;
acknowledges the need to cooperate and enhance the understanding, action and
support in different areas such as early warning systems, emergency preparedness and
risk insurance.

Intended Nationally Determined Contribution

Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) is a reflection of a countrys
ambition to the reduction of greenhouse gases. The primary goal of the Paris summit is to lower
emissions down to pre-industrial levels. Countries that ratify the agreement are not forced to
adopt a target INDC. Instead, they are given freedom to determine their own contribution, but
must present a transparent report on their progress every 5 years.
The INDC of a country shall be communicated to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). A communicated INDC shall then be published in
the website of the UNFCCC. An INDC of a country shall be transparent to allow stakeholders to
keep track on a countrys progress in attaining its target contribution.
Each INDC shall be collated into one ambition sufficient to limit global warming to
below 2C relative to pre- industrial levels. Each INDC should include a mitigation goal which
would then be eventually transformed into a binding mitigation commitment. It shall be
transparent, quantifiable, comparable, verifiable, and ambitious. It shall also reflect equity
according to the Common But Differentiated and Respective Capacities Principle, an
International Environmental Law principle formulated in the context of the Rio Earth Summit for
sustainable development. Mitigation goals must transform patterns of production and
consumption and shift them onto long-term sustainable development paths.
However, this mitigation goal is not included in the INDC of a Least Developed Country
(LDC) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). These states may, on the other hand,
communicate information on strategies, plans, and actions for greenhouse gas emission
development.
Countries may also include an adaptation goal which is a precondition to their mitigation
goal. INDCs may also include:
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1. An absolute, economy-wide emissions target which defines until when (target year or
period) a country will emit not more than a certain amount of GHG emissions.
2.

Deviation from a BAU (Business as usual) scenario which defines by how much,
and by when, a country will undercut a scenario of emissions growth projected into
the future. This mitigation goal requires a transparent approach and basic
assumptions on the BAU scenario based on projections of GDP and emissions.

3. An intensity target which defines target GHG emissions per unit GDP (or capita).
This requires transparent methodologies to measure GDP and GDP growth.
4. A set of policies and actions which measure and quantify emissions reduction
impacts.
Upfront Information
Upfront Information shall make INDCs transparent, understandable and clear in order to
be able to quantify and compare INDCs, add them up internationally and provide the information
basis for analysis. May include:
1. Quantifiable information on the reference point (including, as appropriate, a base year).
2. Time frames and/or periods for implementation.
3. Scope and coverage.
4. Planning processes.
5. Assumptions and methodological approaches including those for estimating and
accounting for anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and, as appropriate, removals.
6. How the Party considers that its intended nationally determined contribution is fair and
ambitious, in light of its national circumstances, and how it contributes towards achieving
the objective of the Convention
Philippine INDC
On October 1, 2015, Vice Chairperson and Commissioner of the Climate Change
Commission of the Philippines, Secretary Mary Ann L. Sering submitted the Philippine INDC. It
included a comprehensive climate change policy agenda:
1. The passage of the Climate Change Act of 2009 as amended, establishing the Climate
Change Commission to lead Policy and coordinate, monitor, and evaluate climate change
response. This law also created the Cabinet Cluster on Climate Change Adaptation and

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Mitigation, to focus on increasing convergence and coordination among government

agencies with key roles on adaptation and mitigation.
The amendments also introduced the Peoples Survival Fund allocating budget for
adaptation needs of local communities and local governments.
2. The Enactment of the National Risk Reduction and Management Law of 2010 serving as
a guide to mitigate impacts of disasters and increase resilience in the face of natural
disasters.
3. Adoption of the National Framework Strategy on Climate Change in 2010 which laid
down the foundation and roadmap for addressing climate change. It identified adaptation
as the anchor strategy and considered mitigation as a function of adaptation.
4. Issuance of the National Climate Change Action Plan in 2011 which set the tone for the
government to implement short, medium, and long term actions in seven thematic areas
of food security, water security, ecological and environmental stability, human security,
climate smart industries and services, sustainable energy, and knowledge and capacity
development
5. Promulgation of complementary sectorial laws (e.g. Ecological Solid Waste Management
Act of 2000, Biofuels Act of 2006 and the Renewable Energy Act of 2008) that led to the
increase in the utilization of renewable energy sources, reinforcing and institutionalizing
climate change mitigation actions, as well as, creating opportunities for synergy and
collaboration for an efficient utilization of limited resources.
6. The Philippines is endowed with diverse ecosystems, which are considered extremely
important for enabling the country to develop resilience in the face of climate change.
Among these are its forests and marine resources, which are seen as contributing to both
adaptation and mitigation needs. Marine ecosystems can play a crucial role with its
potential on blue carbon. Some of these ecosystem contributions are articulated in the
Philippine National REDD Plus Strategy and the recently updated Philippine Biodiversity
Strategy and Action Plan. The Philippine legislature is poised to declare by law 97
protected areas as national parks under the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas
Systems, which could contribute to increasing resiliency against climate change.
Philippine Mitigation Goal
Mitigation of emissions by the Philippines shall also come from energy, transport,
forestry, and industry sectors. It is conditioned on the extent of financial resources, technology
development and transfer, and capacity building that will be made available to the Philippines.
The Philippines shall also integrate climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction
into all plans and programs. The following priority measure would also need implementation
support:

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1. Institutional and system strengthening for downscaling climate change models, climate
scenario-building, climate monitoring and observation.
2. Roll-out of science-based climate/disaster risk and vulnerability assessment process as
the basis for mainstreaming climate and disaster risks reduction in development plans,
programs and projects.
3. Development of climate and disaster-resilient ecosystems.
4. Enhancement of climate and disaster-resilience of key sectors agriculture, water and
health.
5. Systematic transition to a climate and disaster-resilient social and economic growth.
6. Research and development on climate change, extremes and impacts for improved risk
assessment and management.
Participation of the Philippines in COP 21/ CMP 11
President Hollande of France has invited all heads of state to participate in the 21st COP of the
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It is an opportunity for the
countries to reaffirm their support for a global climate change agreement.
The Philippines submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) last October
1, 2015 with a conditional emission reduction of 70% relative to its business-as-usual (BAU)
scenario of years 2000-2030. As a vulnerable country and a low-emitter, policies on climate
change are mostly on adaptation. President Aquino signed Executive Order no. 174 which
institutionalized greenhouse gas inventory management as well as a reporting system, designed
to support the Philippine INDC.
The Philippines was chosen to chair the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) of 20 developing
countries representing almost 200 million people threatened by climate change. The CVF High
Level Event is a flagship initiative of the Philippine Presidency of the CVF (2015-2016). It is an
important meeting of the members of the CVF in order to confirm decisions made and to put
them into process at COP21.
As an informal platform and advocacy group outside the convention for countries highly
vulnerable to climate change, the CVF highlights the shared interest of its members, that is:
1. Espousing a strong ambition on climate change actions
2. A global warming limit of 1.5 degree Celsius
3. Clarity, predictability and transparency in the means of implementation in the
Paris Climate Change Agreement.
Disaster Risk Reduction Management
Disaster Risk Reduction aims to reduce the damage caused by natural hazards like earthquakes,
floods, droughts and cyclones, through an ethic of prevention.
Philippines (R.A. No. 10121)
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Republic Act No. 10121 otherwise known as PDRRM ACT of 2010 is an act strengthening the
Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management System, providing for the National Disaster
Risk Reduction and Management Framework, Institutionalizing the National Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Plan, Appropriating funds therefore and for other purposes.
RA 10121 also institutionalized The Four Thematic Areas of DRMM which are:
1. Disaster Prevention and Mitigation - Avoid hazards and mitigate their potential impacts
by reducing vulnerabilities and exposure and enhancing capacities of communities.
2. Disaster Response - Provide life preservation and meet the basic subsistence needs of
affected population based on acceptable standards during or immediately after a disaster.
3. Disaster Rehabilitation and Recovery - Restore and improve facilities and living
conditions and capacities of affected communities, and reduce risks in accordance with
the building back better principle.
4. Disaster Preparedness - Establish and strengthen capacities of communities to anticipate,
cope and recover from the negative impacts of emergency occurrences and disasters.
The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
UNISDR led a process with 29 UN organizations to develop the UN Plan of Action on
Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience, which the Chief Executive Board of the United Nations
adopted in March 2013.The UN Plan of Action hinges on UNISDRs role as the focal point for
disaster risk reduction in the UN system, and for coordinating and integrating disaster risk
reduction into UN country-level programmes and activities. The UN Plan of Action identifies a
series of measures to strengthen support for countries and communities in managing disaster risk.
It requires, for example, assessments of the extent to which disaster and climate risk is being
addressed in the UN country development frameworks (known as UNDAFs).
CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE WORLD WE LIVE IN
Climate Change Advocacy Around the World
United Nations
On 1 January 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at an historic UN
Summit officially came into force. Over the next fifteen years, with these new Goals that
universally apply to all, countries will mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight
inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind.
While the SDGs are not legally binding, governments are expected to take ownership and
establish national frameworks for the achievement of the 17 Goals. Countries have the primary
responsibility for follow-up and review of the progress made in implementing the Goals, which
will require quality, accessible and timely data collection. Regional follow-up and review will be
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based on national-level analyses and contribute to follow-up and review at the global level.
The 13th goal is all about fighting climate change and it includes its targets which are:
1.) Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural
disasters in all countries
2.) Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning
3.) Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate
change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning
4.) Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100
billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in
the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and
fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible
5.) Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning
and management in least developed countries and small island developing States,
including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities
NGO: Greenpeace
NGO: Greenpeace is the leading independent campaigning organization that uses
peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and to
promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Founded in 1971,
Greenpeaces initial advocacy work focused on its opposition to nuclear testing. In 1985, the
French Secret Service famously bombed a Greenpeace ship moored in Auckland, New Zealand,
on its way to protest French nuclear testing in Moruroa Atoll. Since then, the organizations
priority has shifted from nuclear proliferation to confronting climate change. But their strategy of
direct action with an international focus has essentially remained the same.
Today, when you look at the Greenpeace website you can see that their main campaign
focuses on its advocacy to fight climate change.
Global Warming Issues & Threats
A small handful of companies are responsible for the majority of the greenhouse gas
emissions causing global warming. In fact, just 90 fossil fuel companies account for almost twothirds of carbon dioxide emissions since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
Coal
Coal was once king in the U.S., even accounting for more than 40 percent of our
electricity. But coal, the most polluting of all fossil fuels, is bad news for our health and the
environment. The good news is people around the world are moving away from dirty, polluting
coal in favor of clean, renewable, affordable energy.
Nuclear Energy
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Nuclear energy has no place in a safe, clean, sustainable future. Nuclear energy is both
expensive and dangerous. And just because nuclear pollution is invisible doesnt mean its clean.
Renewable energy is better for the environment, the economy, and doesnt come with the risk of
a nuclear meltdown.
Solution: 100% Renewable Energy For All
Renewable energy is generally defined as energy that is collected from resources which
are naturally replenished on a human timescale, such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and
geothermal heat.
A 100 percent renewable energy future is necessary not only for the climate, but also for
local communities. Moving away from the current fossil fuel economy can make our
communities healthier, reduce pollution, and create more and better jobs. It can take the burden
off the backs of low-income communities and communities of color that have borne the worst
impacts of the fossil fuel economy. A 100 percent renewable future can ensure that our energy
economy is one that works for everyone, not just fossil fuel CEOs.
Exposing Climate Deniers
PolluterWatch
The PolluterWatch project is holding polluters, their lobbyists, and the politicians who
work with them accountable for poisoning the climate debate and blocking much-needed
environmental regulations. An example of an expose is Koch Industries: Secretly Funding
Climate Denial
Billionaire oilman David Koch likes to joke that Koch Industries is the biggest company
youve never heard of. But the nearly $50 million that David Koch and his brother Charles have
quietly funneled to climate-denial front groups that are working to delay policies and regulations
aimed at stopping global warming is no joking matter.
Koch Industries: Secretly Funding the Climate Denial Machine, exposes the Kochs web
of dirty money and influence.
Charles G. Koch and David H. Koch have a vested interest in delaying climate action:
theyve made billions from their ownership and control of Koch Industries, an oil corporation
that is the second largest privately-held company in America (which also happens to have an
especially poor environmental record).
MNC
As provided by Greenpeace, the use of renewable energy is a key solution together with
others to fight climate change. Below is a list of examples of energy efficiency and
renewable investments by multinational companies:

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1. Burger King
In many ways fast food outlets personify our throw-away culture, farming huge amounts
of cows and chickens at huge cost to the environment. Huge energy users, Burger King says it is
taking steps to cut its carbon footprint at store level. 80 restaurants in California have installed
efficient grills, reducing gas consumption by 52% and saving $41,300 a year. In 2010 it opened a
franchise in Waghusel, Germany that uses 720 solar photovoltaic modules to supply a third of
its power.
2. Facebook
The social media giants latest data centre, in Lule, Sweden is powered by locally
generated hydro-electric energy. Not only is it 100% renewable, but the supply is also so reliable
that the social networking site has been able to reduce the number of backup generators required
at the site by more than 70%. The company will also be completing its wind power data center in
Iowa, US, this summer and expects to begin serving user traffic in 2014.
3. DHL
Deutsche Post DHL has switched to electric vehicles for its delivery services in Bonn and
the surrounding region this summer, making the city the first location in Germany with a carbonfree vehicle concept. The pilot project sees about 141 electric vehicles on the road by 2016,
resulting in decreased CO2 emissions of over 500 tons per year.
In March 2011, DHL rolled out a fleet of 30 electric and 50 hybrid delivery trucks to
serve Manhattan, New York. By 2020 DHL aims to generate 30% less CO2 for every letter and
parcel sent, every container shipped and every square meter of warehouse space used.
Summary
Climate change is a change in the usual weather found in a place. This could be a change
in how much rain a place usually gets in a year or is could be a change in a place/s usual
temperature for a month or season. Climate change is also a change in earths climate. This could
be a change in Earths usual temperature or it could be a chance in where rain and snow usually
fall on earth. Global Warming is the term used to describe a gradual increase in the average
temperature of the Earths surface and atmosphere. The planet is warming, from North Pole to
South Pole, and everywhere in between. An overwhelming scientific consensus maintains that
climate change is due primarily to the human use of fossil fuels, which releases carbon dioxide
and other greenhouse gases into the air.
Alarming impacts of climate change include acceleration on sea level rise and increased
coastal flooding, longer and more damaging wildlife seasons, more frequent and intense heat
waves, widespread forest death, costly and growing health impacts, increase in extreme weather
events, heavier precipitation and flooding, more severe droughts in some areas, growing risks to
our electricity supply, disruptions to food supplies and plant and animal range shifts
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An Inconvenient Truth is a passionate and inspirational loon at former Vice President Al

Gores fervent crusade to halt global warmings deadly progress by exposing the myths and
misconceptions that surround it. It became one of the most successful documentaries in raising
international public awareness of global warming, which dramatically increased the coverage of
climate change by media.
The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization that promotes international cooperation. It maintains international peace and security, promote sustainable development,
protect human rights, uphold international law, and deliver humanitarian aid. It is also concerned
with the increasing effects of climate change to our plant. Along the years, it has continuously
developed various programs and held various conferences in order to raise awareness regarding
the climate issue and hopefully, gain cooperation among its members in addressing our worlds
problem.
Within the United Nations system and serving as an authoritative advocate for global
environment is the United Nations Environment Programme, otherwise known as UNEP. It is the
leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda and promotes
the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development. Its
goals include adaptation t climate change, mitigating climate change, reducing emissions from
deforestation (REDD+), and knowledge and communication.
One treaty led by the United Nations pursuant to the issue of climate change is the Kyoto
Protocol. It is an international treaty which commits its parties by setting international binding
emission reduction targets and has also recognized that the developed countries are principally
responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more
than 150 years of industrial activity. It is seen as an important first step towards a truly global
emission reduction regime that will stabilize GHG emissions, and can provide the architecture
for the future international agreement on climate change.
The most recent conference attended by various countries with regards to the issue of
climate change is the Paris Climate Conference (COP21) in December 2015.During the said
conference, 195 countries agreed to partake on a global climate deal that will require deeper
emissions reduction commitments from all countries- developed and developing. This agreement
hold countries responsible to their commitments and mobilize greater investments to assist
developing countries in building low-carbon, climate-resilient economies.
Accordingly, there are three reasons why the nations are making such commitments
namely the demand from their citizens, increase in the understanding that clean air is vital to a
healthy economy and that as technology advances, the economics of clean energy have improved
dramatically. In this conference, the governments agreed on reducing emissions, cooperation in
transparency and global stocktake, strengthening adaptation and averting, minimizing, and
addressing Loss and damage

Under the Paris conference, the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC)
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reflects countrys ambition to the reduction of greenhouse gases. The primary goal of the Paris
summit is to lower emissions down to pre-industrial levels. Unlike in the Kyoto Protocol, in the
Paris summit, countries are given freedom to determine their own contribution, but must present
a transparent report on their progress every 5 years.
On October 1, 2015, Vice Chairperson and Commissioner of the Climate Change
Commission of the Philippines, Secretary Mary Ann L. Sering submitted the Philippine INDC.
Mitigation of emissions by the Philippines shall come from energy, transport, forestry, and
industry sectors.
Philippines has various laws that support the movement against climate change,
specifically, global warming. An example of this is R.A. No. 10121 other known as PDRRM
ACT of 2010. Philippine policies on climate change are mostly on adaptation given its status as a
low-emitter. The Philippines also integrates climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction
into all plans and programs.

Our Responsibilities
Climate change is a global concern and the biggest environmental challenge that our
generation and the next will have to face. We should all participate on decreasing the factors that
contribute to it and the best way to start is to help raise awareness among our family and
community on how we can make a change in our everyday environment and live with a more
sustainable lifestyle.
The most important and key factor causing global warming over the past 50 years is the
increased build up and concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere. Reducing
global carbon emissions is the only way to prevent global warming.

Reduce Your Carbon footprint

Carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide released into the air because of our
energy needs. Our choice of transportation, electricity, food, clothing, and other goods can make
a huge impact in reducing our carbon footprint.
We can reduce carbon emissions through improving energy efficiency, conserving usage,
and adopting renewable energy sources. When possible, walk or ride a bike in order to avoid
carbon emissions completely. Carpooling and public transportation drastically reduce carbon
dioxide emissions by spreading them out over many riders. If you are driving, speeding and
unnecessary acceleration only waste gas and money, and increase your carbon footprint. Also,
combine errands to make fewer trips.

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Other effective ways to reduce your carbon foot print are reusing and recycling, turning
off lights and other appliances not being used, unplugging electronic devices, replacing
incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent or LED ones -- they use only 25% as much
electricity to give the same light and they last ten times longer, and by adopting renewable
energy sources solar panels.
Sequester Carbon Dioxide
Deforestation by means of cutting down and burning these tropical rainforests usually
pave the way for agriculture and industry which often produce even more CO2. Rainforests
every year help to absorb almost 20% of man-made CO2 emissions therefore deforestation can
be classed as a major contributor to the causes of climate change. The increased destruction of
the rainforest forming a precious cooling band around the Earth's equator, is recognized as one of
the main causes of climate change.
Scientific studies show that planting trees in forests in the tropical belt around the equator
benefit the planet most. They absorb CO2, in a process called carbon sequestering, which helps
lower temperatures. Trees use sunlight to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through
photosynthesis and store it as carbon in the form of wood and emit pure oxygen. One of the
practical ways to combat climate change is to plant more trees in order to take more carbon out
of the atmosphere.

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