Low-carbon economy agenda moves forward

The rains over the past couple of weeks have been a testament to the return of the rainy season. In a couple of months, we will shift to the typhoon season.

This part of the year is always a stark reminder of the ongoing effects of climate change. We will have to deal with the consequences of the natural disasters that come with the increase in intensity of storms and rainfall.

Unfortunately, Texas itself is dealing with the higher volume of rainfall that, combined with the topography of the area, meant flash floods coming from the rivers. There was a human cost to this disaster.

As we enter our own typhoon season, we must remember to be prepared, but more importantly continue to exert efforts towards rectifying the situation being generated by climate change.

This means trying to reduce our carbon emissions. And while it will take a global effort to achieve climate change goals, we can start by taking action at home.

Last month, after its third reading, the House of Representatives passed House Bill (HB) 11375 that seeks to promote investments in a low carbon economy, establishing for this purpose a carbon pricing framework and implementation mechanism to achieve low carbon, climate-resilient economic development.

If that sounds like a mouthful, it’s because it is. The HB is very comprehensive and takes a serious effort to put the Philippines on track to contributing to climate change action.

There are three key points to the bill itself, namely: 1) the establishment of the scope and accountability of the government in decarbonization and climate change mitigation; 2) which sectors are covered and the setting mechanisms to limit their carbon emissions as well as a carbon pricing framework to help direct capital towards decarbonization; and 3) building the infrastructure, systems, and plan to make all this work towards climate change goals.

The first point is identifying who is responsible for executing these goals. The lead agency is the Climate Change Commission (CCC) and the other agencies are the Department of Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture, Department of Transportation, Department of Trade and Industry, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The local government units (LGUs) also play a significant role in this sustainability thrust. But the CCC is in charge of setting the stage, establishing rules, and allocating capital for climate change mechanisms.

The transportation, agriculture, manufacturing, mining, waste and energy/power sectors are the initial sectors that will be required to produce decarbonization plans, which means a time-bound limit to bring down carbon emissions.

The implication is that there is a potentially added cost to these sectors but there is also a proposal to establish a fund for decarbonization.

The last point is the establishment of a carbon pricing framework to establish the value behind the emissions that the CCC will take inventory of.

More importantly, the proposed law sets the possibility of a carbon market where the price of these emissions is set. This is important because establishing a market can help allocate capital towards various solutions, whether technology or nature-based, and help mitigate the impact of climate change.

The biggest challenge, however, is the verification component. Just as in the 1990s, when the capital markets development program was being implemented, several key elements need to be developed first, including market knowledge and awareness.

Building verification and certification capability is crucial in strengthening market integrity and investor trust. Currently, investors seek verification, as local capacity is still not in place.

Despite this, the important part is that a proposed law has moved forward and should be on the agenda of the new Senate. Hopefully, this becomes law sooner rather than later and propels national and local action towards mitigating the negative effects of forces of nature amplified by human activities.