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Wednesday, 14 October 2009 |
PGMA to take up Climate Change in 15th ASEAN Summit in Thailand President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is expected to take up the effects of climate change at the 15th ASEAN Summit to be held on Oct.23 to 25 in Thailand’s oldest beach resort of Hua Hin.
“Rest assured she will continue to champion the issue (on climate change) not only in the ASEAN but the rest of the world,” Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said in a press briefing in Malacanang today.
An ASEAN Declaration on Climate Change is among the three expected summit results.
The extreme weather conditions brought about by climate change was recently experienced in the country. Typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng brought havoc to Northern Luzon and Metro Manila.
According to Remonde, the President has always been a champion of the cause of climate change mitigation. That is understandable, he pointed out, since the country experiences about 20 typhoons a year.
In December last year, the President took over the Presidential Task Force on Climate Change so she can have a “hands-on approach in crafting and implementing initiatives for environmental security.”
And with the unexplained volume of rains that caused flooding in many parts of Luzon, the President said, a landmark bill institutionalizing government’s response climate change will be signed into law this month.
The Climate Change Act of 2009 aims to make climate change a centerpiece of the government’s disaster preparedness program on the national and local levels. (PND) |
