By Edu Lopez
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) has stressed the need for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to adopt a low-cost technology program that would enable industries to comply with the country’s commitment to substantially slash its carbon emissions.
PCCI president George Barcelon told a multi-sectoral forum on climate change that although its carbon emissions are comparatively very small, the Philippines has ironically made one of the biggest commitments to a global pact to cut toxic emissions that contribute to climate change.
The Paris Agreement calls on individual countries to set their target goal for lowering their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in less than 15 years.
Barcelon said that for industry to do its part, especially SMEs which comprise the overwhelming majority of the sector, it needs access to inexpensive technology.
“I wouldn’t want us to be paying overpriced technology in order to achieve carbon emission reduction,” he said as he called on government to see how small firms could be helped financially through funding.
He also urged advanced nations to share their climate change mitigation know-how with developing economies.
“I hope that the developed countries can help us, not just by giving the monetary amount in our fight for climate change, but to really open up and share technology,” he said.
“A lot of this climate change knowledge and equipment I think can easily be built in the Philippines. I wouldn’t want us to be paying overpriced technology in order to achieve the target.”
Pointing out that since all sectors of society contribute to pollution, he underscored the need to work together. “The solution will only come with the cooperation of the private sector and the government,” the PCCI head said.
He added that business wants to actively partner with the government and the academe to ensure that the right policies and regulations on climate change mitigation and adaptation are adopted.
The Paris Agreement is a pact among 195 countries to keep global temperature increase well below 2?C by cutting down on GHG emissions, mainly by minimizing the use of fossil fuels that release massive amounts of carbon dioxide pollutants into the air.
To accomplish this worldwide goal, each country is required to determine its individual contribution for lowering its emissions, called “intended nationally determined contribution (INDC).”
The Philippines, under the Manila Declaration of 2015 signed last year, has set an INDC of 70% by 2030. The reduction would come from the energy, transport, waste, forestry, and industry sectors.
The business community has decried that the goal is too high and would impinge on the energy needs of the country’s growing economy.
