PRE-DISASTER. Residents of Catanduanes board up houses and establishments as a precautionary measure against Tropical Storm Paeng on Friday (Oct. 28, 2022). Catanduanes is under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 2 (Contributed photo)
MANILA – For a local government to be disaster-resilient, it should acknowledge that climate change is happening and take into consideration not just lives but also potential economic losses.
Speaking at the “Poets for Climate” exhibit launch at Makati City Hall on Friday, Mayor Abby Binay said the economic factor was among the major points of discussion during the Daring Cities 2022 forum held in Bonn, Germany on October 3 to 7.
"If you cannot recognize the fact that climate change is already happening, then you are truly blind. If you're not preparing for action today, then there will be no tomorrow. We have to act now," Binay said.
Even first-world countries are experiencing climate change, Binay said, so the Philippines as a disaster-vulnerable country should adapt.
"The typhoons are getting stronger. They are now being called super typhoons. The damage inflicted are more compared to before," she said.
Makati City declared a “state of climate emergency” in August and became the first local government in Metro Manila to acknowledge the crisis caused by climate change.
It is also the first city in Southeast Asia to become an accredited resilience hub by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction because of its mitigation programs.
Binay recently announced that Makati is set to procure a fleet of electric vehicles and solar panels for public schools and government offices to minimize energy consumption and ensure the continuity of government services during calamities.
The exhibit, which will run until November 7, featured poems that showcase how the climate crisis is undoing and transforming landscapes and places and how advocates are reimagining the future of the places we live in, according to Climate Reality Project Philippines which organized the event along with Makati and the Embassy of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. (PNA)
