CED regions in Philippines

Below are the local councils in the Philippines that have declared a Climate Emergency, in chronological order. Click the “motion text” links to see details of the motions they passed.

17 July 2019, Bacolod City Council, Western Visayas, Philippines, population 561,875

Declared a Climate Emergency. See this article.

5 August 2019, Tolosa Municipal Council, Leyte, Philippines, population 20,978

Unanimously declared a Climate Emergency

motion text

Excerpts:

In its Resolution 08-64-2019 titled “Resolution Endorsing the Declaration of a Climate Emergency and Requesting Regional Collaboration on an Immediate Just Transition and Emergency Mobilization Effort to Restore a Safe Climate,” unanimously approved on Aug. 5, 2019, it “declares that a climate emergency threatens our municipality, state, civilization, humanity and the natural world.”

“The Municipality of Tolosa commits to a municipal-wide just transition and climate emergency mobilization effort to reverse global warming, which, with appropriate financial and regulatory assistance from the municipal government and the national government, ends municipal-wide greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible and no later than 2030, immediately initiates an effort to safely draw down carbon from the atmosphere and accelerates adaptation and resilience strategies in preparation for intensifying climate impacts.”

15 October 2019, Cebu City Council, Central Visayas, Philippines, population 922,611

Declared a Climate Emergency and set a 2030 carbon neutral target date for the city region. Another news article is here.

motion text

Resolution text:

RESOLUTION ON CLIMATE EMERGENCY
WHEREAS, in April 2016, world leaders from 175 countries recognized the threat of climate change and the urgent need to combat it by signing the Paris Agreement, agreeing to keep warming “well below 2C above pre-industrial levels” and to “pursue efforts to limit temperature increase to 1.5C;”

WHEREAS, the death and destruction already wrought by global warming clearly demonstrate that the Earth is already too hot as attested by increased and intensifying wildfires, floods, rising sea level, diseases, droughts and extreme weather;

WHEREAS, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an intergovernmental body of the United Nations, dedicated to providing the world with an objective, scientific view of climate change, its natural, political and economic impacts and risks, and possible response options, warned “that the world had about a decade to bring greenhouse gases under control, or face a probable rise in temperatures well beyond the 1.5C above pre-industrial levels which would bring devastating effects such as droughts, floods, heatwaves and damage to agriculture;’

WHEREAS, the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, approved on 24 September 2019, provides “new evidence for the benefits of limiting global warming to the lowest possible level- in line with the goal that governments set themselves in the Paris Agreement and further saying that “if we reduce emissions sharply, consequences for people and livelihoods will still be challenging, but potentially more manageable for those who are most vulnerable, thus, increasing our ability to build resilience and there will be more benefits for sustainable development;”

WHEREAS, restoring a safe and stable climate requires an emergency mobilization to reach zero greenhouse gas emissions across sectors to rapidly and safely drawdown or remove all the excess carbon from the atmosphere, and to implement measures to protect all people and species from the consequences of abrupt climate change;

WHEREAS, the term “Just Transition” is a framework for a fair shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy which is ecologically sustainable, equitable and just for all its peoples;

WHEREAS, Just Transition initiatives shift the economy from dirty energy to energy democracy, from funding highways to expanding public transit, from incinerators and landfills to zero waste, from industrial food systems to food sovereignty, from car dependent sprawl and unbridled economic growth to smart urban development without displacement, and from rampant, destructive over-development to habitat and ecosystem restoration;

WHEREAS, climate justice calls for a just response on the climate crisis which is people-centered, human rights-based and equitable; thus, fully takes priority the needs, interests, rights and aspirations of peoples everywhere over the unbridled greed for profit of corporations and the excess of elites. In essence, climate justice is solidarity with the planet and the people, not profit;

WHEREAS, according to the Under2 Coalition, a group of state and regional governments committed to keeping global temperature rises to well below 2°C, “global climate emergency declarations are soaring as governments work towards long-term carbon neutrality with latest figures show that 669 jurisdictions across 15 countries have declared a state of climate emergency and for many governments, the decision to declare coincides with planning for concrete action to address climate change and the implementation of policies that work towards long-term emission reduction goals;”

WHEREAS, no less than the Pope himself, Pope Francis, has declared a global “climate emergency”, warning of the dangers of global heating and that a failure to act urgently to reduce greenhouse gases would be “a brutal act of injustice toward the poor and future generations;”

WHEREAS, given the urgency to take concrete actions to mitigate the effects of climate crisis, a declaration of a climate emergency for the City of Cebu is in order as an urgent response to the environmental disasters that threaten our generation and the generations to come;

NOW THEREFORE, the Sangguniang Panlungsod of the City of Cebu, as moved by Member Dizon and seconded by Member _________;

RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, the City of Cebu declares a climate emergency and commits to a citywide Just Transition to mobilize effort to reverse global warming by appropriating funds and passing measures and policies to end citywide greenhouse emissions no later than 2030, immediately initiates an effort to safely drawdown carbon from the atmosphere, and accelerates adaptation and resilience strategies in preparation for intensifying climate impacts;

RESOLVED FURTHER, for the City to create a Climate Change Technical Working Group to craft a comprehensive Local Climate Change Action Plan (LCCAP) as mandated by the Climate Change Act of 2009 in order to “build the adaptive capacity and resilience of communities to the impacts of climate change;”

RESOLVED FURTHER, the City fully commits to the principle of Energy Democracy which represents a shift from the corporate, centralized fossil fuel economy to one that is designed on the principle of no harm to the environment, supports local economies, renewable, contributes to the health and well-being for all peoples and protect the rights of the environment and future generations;

RESOLVED FINALLY, to request the Acting Secretary of the Sanggunian to furnish copies of this Resolution to the Office of the Mayor, Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CCENRO), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) regional office, Philippine Climate Change Commission, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Philippines ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­for their information and guidance.

ALVIN M. DIZON
Cebu City Councilor

21 October 2019, Quezon City Council, National Capital Region, Philippines, population 2,960,048

Declared a Climate Emergency

Resolution: https://www.cedamia.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Quezon-City-Reso-No.-7999-S-2019_Climate_Emergency.pdf

5 August 2022, Makati City Council, National Capital Region, Philippines, population 629,616

Declared a Climate Emergency

Council press release: https://www.makati.gov.ph/content/news/70085

24 October 2023, Albay Province, Bicol region, Philippines, population 1,374,768

Declared a Climate Emergency
Article: https://www.manilatimes.net/2023/10/25/regions/albay-declares-state-of-climate-emergency/1916211