Through Patricia B. MirasolProducer
Solid waste management is one of the sustainability challenges that has repeatedly emerged in the discussionssaid Florian Gottein, Executive Director of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP).
“One of our members in the consumer industry said that…the real difficulty is in scope 3 emissions [or the greenhouse gases generated by business travel, employee commuting, and waste as part of company operations]especially in managing waste generated by their distributors and consumers,” he said during a September 17 press conference organized by the ECCP.
“Improper management of solid waste poses serious risks to human health and biodiversity… burning of waste, [moreover,] emits greenhouse gases that further accelerate climate change,” he added.
ECCP has an upcoming community-level project called The race to zero waste: a call for collective action for sustainable waste management. It will build on RA 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, and will continue to support and advocate for its effective implementation.
The power of consumption is the best way to dictate the future of the planet, says Dr. Albert P. Dela Cruz, Sr., Commissioner of the Climate Change Commission.
The Philippines’ losses amount to more than P66 billion a year due to climate change, he said at the same meeting.
“The solution is the ecosystem. It is an approach to all humanity,” he said. “We will not have total equilibrium if companies A, B and C contain no carbohydrates, but companies D and E do not.”
During the press conference, ECCP also announced her appointment as an official accelerator in the Philippines for Race to Zero. The global campaign calls on more than 14,500 non-state actors to take action to halve global emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.
One of the campaign’s objectives is to raise funds to support activities aligned with the Race to Zero roadmap, including data mapping, impact measurement and community initiatives. ECCP will align with the 5 Ps of Race to Zero – Promise, Plan, Continue, Publish and Persuade – to ensure initiatives encourage stakeholders to meet these criteria. The Accelerator role is to support companies in identifying and achieving their net zero companies, and promotes innovation that stimulates sustainable solutions.
“As the only accelerator in the Philippines, ECCP is prepared to take the lead in advocating and coordinating meaningful climate action across the region,” Mr. Gottein told briefing attendees.
“With more than 830 diverse members, including small and medium-sized enterprises and multinationals, [the chamber] plays a crucial role in bridging sustainable growth between Europe and the Philippines,” he said.
The Philippines is among the most vulnerable countries to climate-related weather events.
A September 18 report by Climate Centrala non-advocacy, non-profit organization science and news organization, showed that Nearly all populations in the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam were exposed for at least a week to temperatures that pose a potential risk to human health, and which have become three times more likely due to climate change.
Southeast Asia was also the region where the most people were exposed to climate change-influenced temperatures for at least 60 days in June, July and August.