PR99077

PASAY CITY, Philippines, Dec. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

WWF-Philippines is enjoining the private sector to work towards convening a

Philippine Alliance for Climate Action in the culmination of the UNITED FOR

CLIMATE: Sustainability Forum held at the Conrad Manila on November 28, 2022.

The forum, hosted by SM Investments Corporation, gathered business owners,

partner suppliers, policy makers, and civil society organizations in a

multi-sectoral dialogue on climate action.

"Through a Philippine Alliance for Climate Action, companies can work together

to create a shared vision and synchronized action plan. We hope this can be a

way for the private sector -as the engine of our economy - to accelerate

efforts for the single goal of keeping global warming to 1.5C," WWF-Philippines

Executive Director, Katherine 'Trin' Custodio said.

"We hope that this forum will launch sector-wide discussions on innovative

climate strategies across Philippine industries. The next steps will be to

agree on a way forward and a timeline, and how all can progress towards a

unified, private sector-led climate action plan that is context-specific,

adaptive, and truly Filipino," said Hans Sy, Jr. of the SM Group who was also

one of the forum's keynote speakers.

"Together with WWF, we invite you to carry on with the discussions from COP 27

- this time, bringing them closer to home. We urge that we look at our climate

agenda through the lens of the Philippines' agenda and the realities that

Filipino businesses and local communities face every day," SM Investments

President and Chief Executive Officer Frederic C. DyBuncio said in his opening

remarks during the forum.  

The forum kicked off the joint efforts to fight climate change through

"fireside chats" that formed the foundation of a practical climate action plan.

Keynote speakers Sec. Antonia "Toni" Yulo-Loyzaga of the Department of

Environment and National Resources (DENR), Maria Isabel Garcia, Chairperson of

WWF Philippines, provided the context for ambitious action which are the global

double emergency of biodiversity loss and climate change, and the delivering

the country's climate commitments.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global

emissions need to be reduced by 50 percent by 2030 to avoid significant

climate-related catastrophes. The Philippines is one of the signatories of the

historic Paris Agreement on Climate Change and has committed to reduce the

country's carbon emissions by 75% by 2030.

SOURCE: SM Investments Corporation