by FFE PH News staff

According to the World Bank, the Philippines is the third most vulnerable country to climate change. This is what European Union Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard pointed out during her press briefing in Makati on September 6.

Danish Hedegaard has been the EU Commissioner for Climate Change since 2010

The commissioner remarked that “It’s interesting to be here that to talk about climate change and not to talk about some distant threat. It’s only a few weeks back since most of this city was flooded.”

“I also saw this poll that eight out of 10 Filipinos are personally being affected (by climate change), she added. “In fact, (Filipinos) were affected already for the recent three years.”

Greater climate action is on the commissioner’s agenda when she met with high ranking officials, lawmakers and civil society groups last week. She talked to Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario and Philippine Climate Change Commission Vice Chair Lucille Sering among others, saying it was extremely important that the EU and the Philippines exchange views on climate change so that “you can play a very interesting role.”

She commented on how climate change requires a global solution involving all countries, especially the major greenhouse gas emitters.

The commissioner attended the Pacific Island Forum previously where she consulted with some countries most vulnerable to climate change.

“It is very interesting to note how these states who are in the forefront of climate change, as in many respect the Philippines also is, have started to integrate climate thinking into their development strategies, their growth and job strategies. That is basically all we should be doing.”