The Philippines’ urgent call for climate action and resilience

After another year of experiencing the effects of climate change first-hand in the Philippines, advancing the climate agenda is not just a necessity — it’s a survival imperative. Rising global temperatures, intensifying natural disasters, and widespread environmental degradation have all been the topic of headlines in the past year. These natural phenomena caused by human activities highlight the urgent need to combat global warming in an increasingly less climate-resilient world.

Rising global temperature

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recently confirmed that 2024 was the warmest year on record at about 1.55°C above pre-industrial level, based on six international datasets. Similarly, data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration shows that global temperatures in 2024 were 1.28°C above the agency’s 20^th-century baseline, which tops the record set in 2023.

Both organizations attribute this rise in global temperatures to ocean warming. The WMO explained that around 90% of the excess heat generated by global warming is absorbed by the seas, making ocean heat content a vital measure of climate change. Climate fluctuations such as El Niño and La Niña, volcanic eruptions, added pollutants, and how solar energy is reflected into space were also cited as contributing factors to the rise in temperature last year.

While the warmth recorded in 2024 is still below the global average temperature target of 2°C based on the 2015 Paris Agreement, it is concerningly slightly above the 1.5°C threshold which would “significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change.”

Natural disasters

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction reported in 2021 that natural hazards accounted for 50% of all disasters, 45% of all reported deaths and 74% of all reported economic losses from 1970 to 2019.

In under a month last year, the Philippines, as one of the most vulnerable countries to natural disasters, was hammered by an unprecedented six consecutive storm systems that left around 200,000 Filipinos displaced across six regions. Damage to livestock, agriculture, and infrastructure was estimated to be nearly P3 billion at the end of November with Marcos Administration spending another P1 billion on food and other aid for the hundreds of thousands of storm victims.

UK-based media company Carbon Brief reported that the likelihood of the observed potential intensity of typhoons in the Philippines has increased approximately sevenfold while the maximum possible intensity of a typhoon has risen by around 4 meters per second compared to data from 1940.

Environmental degradation

Deforestation, land conversion, overfishing, and many other human activities have compromised nature in some way, reducing biological diversity and the general health of the environment. Non-profit development organization IBON Foundation detailed the critical state of the Philippine environment.

Latest data from IBON show that just 7 million hectares as of 2015, or just 23.3% of the country’s land area are covered by forests, a far cry from the 54% environmental scientists recommend. Similarly, soil erosion is reportedly severe in 70.5% of the country’s land area due to land conversion for corporate agriculture, cash crops, real estate according to the organization.

The Climate Change Commission (CCC) notes that these degradations pose immediate and long-term risks not only to the environment but to human lives. The CCC emphasized that environmental protection goes beyond conservation; it also involves safeguarding the health and well-being of both present and future generations.

“The rise in environment-related diseases, such as asthma and waterborne illnesses, leads to higher healthcare costs and loss of productivity. Therefore, prioritizing environmental health translates into significant public health and economic benefits,” the CCC said.

Urgency of climate resilience

Every citizen on earth will be impacted in some way by climate change. Phenomena such as rising global temperatures, natural disasters, and environmental degradation require an urgent plea for climate resilience, imploring governments and corporations to actionable solutions, collaborative frameworks, and innovative technologies that can help communities adapt and thrive in a changing world.

Listed as second and first, in the 2-year and 10-year outlooks, respectively, in the World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report 2025 are extreme weather events which categorize it as the most critical current risk of the immediate future. Pollution is regarded as a more urgent short-term risk, while biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse are considered more significant long-term threats by the report.

Other environmentally related risks in the WEF’s report include the concentration of strategic resources, critical changes to the earth’s systems, non-weather related natural disasters, and natural resource shortages.

One of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals is to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. The goal is to increase ambitions, make decisions that cover entire economies, and create policies that transition toward climate-resilient development — all while establishing a clear roadmap to attain net-zero emissions.

The UN’s target for climate action involves strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters, integrating climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning, and improving education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change.

Additionally, the organization hopes for developed countries to mobilize jointly $100 billion annually from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions as well as to promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in less developed countries and small island developing states.

Specific goals of the United Nations Development Program to mitigate climate change include shifting away from fossil fuels, improving energy efficiency, changing agricultural practices, restoring and conserving critical ecosystems, and creating a supportive environment.

In the Philippines, the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) by the CCC serves as the blueprint to systematically address the growing threats of climate change to community life and its impact on the environment. The plan envisions a climate-risk-resilient Philippines with healthy, safe, prosperous and self-reliant communities, and thriving and productive ecosystems.

The NCCAP’s goal is to build the adaptive capacity of Filipino communities and increase the resilience of natural ecosystems to climate change. It has put an emphasis on ensuring food security, water sufficiency, environmental stability, human security, climate-friendly services, sustainable energy, and capacity development.

The effects of climate change felt firsthand in the Philippines, make it clear that tackling such challenges calls for genuine effort and collaboration from the government, businesses, and individuals alike.

The Philippines stands as a testament to the urgent realities of climate change. By embracing sustainable practices, taking urgent action on combating climate change, and building up climate resilience, realities such as rising global temperatures, natural disasters, and environmental degradation can be addressed, ensuring a safer and more sustainable future for the nation and the Filipino people. — Jomarc Angelo M. Corpuz