Aaa Climate Change Investments

An international group of more than 250 scientists collected data over the Indian Ocean
as part of Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) between years 1995 and 1999. INDOEX
discovered a layer of brownish haze of air pollution extending as high as three kilometers
hovering over most of the Indian Ocean, South and Southeast Asia during the dry season.
Air pollution containing aerosol particles emitted from anthropogenic sources such as
fossil fuel and bio-fuel combustion and natural sources like biomass burning and associated
long-range transport, leads to widespread layers of brownish haze, referred to as Atmospheric
Brown Clouds (ABC).
The pollution haze occurs frequently in all other heavily inhabited regions and
downwind. It is a trans-boundary, trans-continental and trans-oceanic phenomenon.
(www.unep.org)
The Philippines hosts about 3,000 unique and endemic plants species and more than
500 of the world’s 700 known coral species. This uniqueness and diversity is under severe
threat from population pressure, over-exploitation, and pollution. In addition, deforestation is a
significant problem in the Philippines. In 1991 and 1992, land use changes accounted for almost
70% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The rate of growth in net greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions will be a critical issue in the Philippines, and therefore managing the country’s
natural resources wisely to protect their supply and quality and to maintain their diversity is
critical for sustained economic growth. (www.usaid.gov)
Impact of Climate Change in the Philippines

Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide levels brought about by human activity is an
attribute to strengthening the greenhouse effect. This contributes to additional absorption of
thermal infrared in the atmosphere, therefore, causing global warming and climate change.
In the Philippines, temperature spikes brought about by climate change has been
experienced. It has been observed that warming is experienced most in the northern and
southern regions of the country, while Metro Manila has warmed less than most parts. In
addition, the regions that have warmed the most (northern Luzon, Mindanao) have also dried
the most. Largest precipitation trends are about 10 percent during the 20th century.
Hot days and hot nights have become more frequent. Extreme weather events have also
occurred more frequently since 1980. These include deadly and damaging typhoons, floods,
landslides, severe El Niño and La Niña events, drought, and forest fires. Adversely affected
sectors include agriculture, fresh water, coastal and marine resources and health.
Climate change is the number one threat to overcoming poverty. Rich countries produce
most of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change. Yet, it is the poorest countries that
will be hit hardest. The impacts of climate change will disproportionately affect the livelihoods,
health, and educational opportunities of people living in poverty, as well as their chances of
survival.
Climate Change on Philippine Investments

Agriculture
Climate change impacts have been manifested in the Philippines by extreme weather
occurrence such as floods, droughts, forest fires, and an increase in tropical cyclones. These
extreme weather events associated with climate change, and the disasters these have wrought,
have caused losses amounting to billions of pesos. From 1975 to 2002, tropical cyclones have
resulted to losses of 4.578 billion pesos due to damage to property, including damage to
agriculture worth 3.047 billion pesos. Drought in Southern Mindanao in 1998, the 2nd hottest
year on record, incurred crop losses amounting to 828 million pesos. And damages due to four
successive tropical cyclones towards the end of 2004 cost the nation an estimated 7,615.98
million pesos.
Unlike the vast agricultural areas of the Asian mainland, the Americas and Europe, the
Philippines is archipelagic. Our production areas are spread over this archipelago and they were
nowhere near approximate the vast production areas in the main lands, nor the great rivers
that nourish them with irrigation water. With as many production environments and their
unique biophysical properties, the cost of anything from the development of suitable genetic
material the accompanying farm technology including mechanization, irrigation and transport
among other things, are relatively higher. This is of course further magnified by social factors
like the predominance of small farms and a still to be completed agrarian reform program that
apparently did not benefit much from technical knowledge on the differences among various
farming systems.
On biophysicals, we have a mixed bag. We have plenty of ambient solar radiation,
relatively good although scarce land which frontier we reached in the middle of the last
century, a tropical climate with plenty of precipitation, plenty of geothermal, solar and wind
energy as well as lots of biomass and vast marine resources. On the other hand, we have a very
prominent place in both the Typhoon Belt where we are probably considered the buckle, and
the Ring of Fire where we also probably occupy the ring stone position.
On the government policy and domestic support side, we have a lot of catching up to do
and the historical neglect has really caught up with us, especially in last year's food price crisis
when our nation's very belly was exposed. We were able to manage supplies and procurement
and we did not have the food riots that visited many developing countries but we could not
afford another such episode.
Up to about four years ago, we spent heavily on irrigation systems construction to the
tune of some six billion pesos annually, roughly half of the Department of Agriculture budget
and mainly financed by foreign loans, but virtually nothing on repairs, maintenance and
rehabilitation. Given a similar historical neglect of the watersheds, what we have now, and
trying hard to address, are irrigation systems that are more precipitation-dependent rather
than watershed-supported. As a consequence, we lost more hectarage annually to system
degradation than the combined annual new hectarage from these construction projects. With
the new fast tracked irrigation rehab and repairs program on the systems, we have made
significant gains but we have lost precious time in finally completing the irrigation systems
development program. The sooner we complete the program, the sooner we can shift more
substantial support to non-rice crops that are just as strategic or where we are more
competitive.
The seasons are no longer as predictable, and therefore, water and other factors of
production. The commodity and financial markets have recently been under speculative attacks
with shocks reverberating to the farms in terms of severe fluctuations in input and farm prices.
Under this environment that is unfavorable to risk taking, we can only expect investments in
agriculture to suffer, particularly those small investments that small farmers themselves make.
Agricultural recovery and further growth therefore hinges on us being able help the farmer
regain his bearings in these very choppy waters. The levels of risk need to be addressed and the
nature of uncertainties better understood.
Energy
Due to inefficient generation and supply of electricity, the Philippines have one of the
highest cost and energy consumption rates in Asia. The demand for energy is growing
exponentially and over half of the Philippines’ GHG emissions are attributed to the energy
sector. The country is hampered by limited energy security due to dependence on imported
fossil fuels and underdevelopment of indigenous energy sources. Consequently, thousands of
communities still lack electricity, particularly in areas affected by conflict and severe poverty.
The transportation sector, which currently produces as much atmospheric carbon as the power
sector, is another significant source of GHG emissions.
Impact of Climate Change to Philippine Investors

Climate change and water scarcity can have a direct impact on the availability, quality
and price of key food commodity inputs by negatively impacting animal and crop yields. Food
commodity prices are particularly vulnerable to the shocks of unpredictable extreme weather
events, while animal yields are most at risk from increased water temperatures (aquaculture)
and access to clean water supplies.
Water scarcity can create operational disruptions since water is 1) a base ingredient and
2) integral to production processes. Water pollution, which contributes to scarcity, requires
investments in filtration technology. Climate change can create operational disruptions by
damaging manufacturing plants and infrastructure.
Climate change and scarcity of clean water can increase exposure to diseases and
contamination, especially for animal-based products, increasing food safety risks. Competition
for water is a source of tension between food processors and stakeholders, creating
reputational risks.
Programs Addressing Environmental Challenges

Non-Government Programs
Strengthening Philippines’ Institutional Capacity to Adapt to Climate Change
UNEP is one of the main executing agencies of the MDG Achievement Fund’s Joint
Programme, “Strengthening the Philippines’ Institutional Capacity to Adapt to Climate Change”,
2008 to 2011. The programme brings together UN agencies working on environmental
sustainability and adaptation to climate change in the Philippines.
The programme aims to mainstream climate risk reduction into key national, and selected local
development plans and processes; enhance national and local capacity to develop, manage and
administer plans, programmes and projects addressing climate change risks; and improve
coping mechanisms through pilot demonstration adaptation projects.
Participating UN agencies are working together on inter-agency planning and
management systems with national and local partners. In 2008, the Joint Programme was
approved in by the National Steering Committee. At the inception workshop in September
2008, the program management arrangements, flow of funds, and reporting structure for both
technical and financial matters were redefined, and the Annual Work Plan for the first year was
consolidated. (www.unep.org)
Government Programs
The Department of Energy’s action on these environmental problems is through
investing on renewable energy. The harnessing and utilization of renewable energy (RE)
comprises a critical component of the government's strategy to provide energy supply for the
country. This is evident in the power sector where increased generation from geothermal and
hydro resources has lessened the country's dependency on imported and polluting fuels. In the
government's rural electrification efforts, on the other hand, renewable energy sources such as
solar, micro-hydro, wind and biomass resources are seeing wide-scale use.
It is the government's policy to facilitate the energy sector's transition to a sustainable system
with RE as an increasingly prominent, viable and competitive fuel option. The shift from fossil
fuel sources to renewable forms of energy is a key strategy in ensuring the success of this
transition. Moreover, current initiatives in the pursuit of this policy are directed towards
creating a market-based environment that is conducive to private sector investment and
participation and encourages technology transfer and research and development. Thus, current
fiscal incentives provide for a preferential bias to RE technologies and projects which are
environmentally sound.
Based on current projections of the Department of Energy (DOE), renewable energy is
foreseen to provide up to 40 percent of the country's primary energy requirements over the
ten-year period beginning in 2003. Although its share will decline in relation to the total figure,
it is estimated to grow at an average annual rate of 2.4 percent in absolute terms. Biomass,
micro-hydro, solar and wind will remain to be the largest contributors to the total share of
renewable energy in the energy mix with an average share of 27.5 percent. Meanwhile, hydro
and geothermal will contribute the balance and continue to be a significant source of electric
power.
An alternative scenario has been drawn up which sets higher targets for RE's
contribution to the country's installed generating capacity based on the enhancement of
existing programs and strategies, realization of higher production targets, establishment of
market-based industry and availability of new international financing schemes such as the Clean
Development Mechanism (CDM). RE-based capacity is foreseen to reach 9,147 MW by 2013, a
dramatic 100-percent increase from its current level of 4,449 MW. This corresponds to a total
of 4,698 MW of RE-fueled power plants which need to be commissioned within the ten-year
period.

Aaa Climate Change Investments

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Aaa Climate Change Investments

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An international group of more than 250 scientists collected data over the Indian Ocean

Impact of Climate Change in the Philippines

Climate Change on Philippine Investments

Impact of Climate Change to Philippine Investors

Programs Addressing Environmental Challenges

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