‘Talk about the same thing, but talk about it differently so that people understand.’
PEOPLE who are vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change are confused about climate terms such as NAP, NDC or LCCAP.
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The head of a lobby group for climate policies has called for the use of terminologies that are understandable to the masses when discussing climate change, during a forum on the issue.
“I think there’s a need for reframing when talking about nationally determined contributions (NDC), when we talk about sequestering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, when we talk about transitioning to renewable energy (RE), to something that we all understand,” Angelo Kairos dela Cruz, executive director of the Institute on Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), said at the conference entitled “Towards a Peaceful and Sustainable Future: Addressing Climate Security in ASEAN” conducted by Stratbase Institute and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in the Philippines on 24 August 2026 in Makati City.
The remark was in response to a question posed during a panel discussion about how the ICSC was able to first help people in Tacloban, where the organization operates, understand the complex problems on climate change.
Dela Cruz cited the experience of ICSC’s science team.
“So every time they talk about the true cost of coal, for example, or the true cost of natural gas, compared to the true cost of RE, compared to nukes, they can talk about numbers over and over again. But then, once we communicate that, it won’t make sense to a lot of people. But what will get attention is when we say that the injection of just 3 percent of RE in times of credit yellow alerts is already equivalent to a quarter of savings when it comes to electricity bills,” he said.
“I mean, mothers and grandmothers and aunties in the whole country understand that. So I think when it comes to climate, we should make that shift. Talk about the same thing, but talk about it differently so that people understand, and therefore, they can identify themselves with the vision that they’re trying to set.”
Dela Cruz added that he doesn’t know anyone who would gladly talk about NAP (National Adaptation Plan) or NDCs despite the good work of the Climate Change Commission (CCC) on drafting both documents together with other government agencies.
NAP refers to the Philippines’ long-term, economy-wide roadmap for adapting to climate change covering the period 2023 to 2050.
The NDC is the Philippines’ pledge under the Paris Agreement on how the country will contribute to global climate action.
CCC deputy executive director Assistant Secretary Romell Antonion Cuenca was among the panelists and speakers at the conference. He said the CCC works with the barangay health workers in the countryside to bring its programs to the household level.
Dela Cruz spoke about re-centering climate security discussions back to the people during the forum.
