‘Climate change must be an election issue’
MANILA, Philippines – Climate change is an election issue and the next president should help address climate change and provide leadership that would enable the country to support efforts to limit global warming, an official of an environment advocacy group said.
Mario Molina, director of The Climate Reality Project Leadership Corps, said political will and knowledge are needed to come up with policies on climate change, which he believes is the most important issue confronting the country.
“Listen to the people and take action on climate as soon as you get in,” Molina said in an interview last Monday when asked for his message to the next president.
“If the intention to address climate change is there, if there is enough leadership in this country, if the Philippine leadership has understanding and knowledge of the issue, then the policies can follow. What is needed is the political will to make those decisions and to make those choices,” he added.
Molina said his group is not in the position to recommend specific policies to the Philippine government, but he believes that climate change and disaster resilience are election issues.
“The Philippines is the most vulnerable country in the world to climate change, so to not address it as an election issue would be a big mistake,” he added.
Molina also noted that the direction that the Philippine leadership takes on climate would be very important, as this would determine if the country would be able to meet its intended nationally determined contribution (INDC). – With Helen Flores
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