Manila Times/Manila
More than eight out of 10 Filipinos are already “personally experiencing” the impact of climate change over the last three years, the Climate Change Commission said.
Citing recent survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), Secretary Lucille Sering, who is also the vice chairperson of the Climate Change Commission (CCC), said 85% of Filipinos claimed to have personally experienced the impact of the global phenomenon in the last three years.
At least 54% of those affected described their experience as “severe” to “moderate,” while 31% said they have “little.”
“The SWS survey tells us just how pervasive the impact of climate change can be on lives of many Filipinos,” Sering said.
Scientists attribute climate change to the rise in global temperature brought about by increased emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.
Increased emissions of these gases have been attributed to human activities such as burning of fossil fuels in motor vehicles and power plants, degradation of forests, and change in land use.
The warming of the earth, scientists said, is causing problems including extreme weather events like prolonged droughts, intense rains and flooding, storm surges, and intensifying and more deadly storms.
CCC, which co-ordinates and monitors programmes relating to climate change, said that the Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate-related extreme weather events and sea level rise.
Sering noted that in the last several years, the country has suffered extreme weather events including long dry spells, heavy rains as well as strong typhoons and floods like those caused by Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng.
“These problems are aggravated by harmful practices that have led to the destruction of forests, mangroves and corals, and the deterioration of the environment in general. Even some areas in Mindanao that we used to consider as typhoon-free have recently been hit by very strong typhoons, floods and mudslides,” said Sering.
The proportion of those who have personally experienced climate change impact is highest in the National Capital Region with 91%, followed by the rest of Luzon with 87%, Visayas with 84% and Mindanao with 78%.
