SENATOR Loren Legarda urged Saturday her fellow parliamentarians from countries that are most vulnerable to climate change impacts to immediately ratify the Paris Agreement.
A UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction's Global Champion for Resilience, Legarda wrote parliamentarians of member countries of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), encouraging them to sign and ratify the Paris Agreement as soon as possible for its early entry into force.
CVF collectively represents one billion people highly vulnerable to climate change impacts.
The Philippines is the current chair of the CVF, an international partnership of countries highly vulnerable to climate change. The forum serves as a cooperation platform for participating governments to act together to deal with climate change.
"The Paris Agreement creates a unique opportunity to safeguard our nations’ future and that of the entire planet. Entry into force of the treaty is now a key preoccupation for CVF nations, given the disproportionate threats of climate change whose impacts already set back the lives of our people and present even existential challenges," Legarda, chair of Senate climate change committee, said.
Legarda noted that CVF members Fiji, Palau, Marshall Islands and Maldives were the first countries to ratify the Paris Agreement.
In order to take effect, the senator said 55 countries representing 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions must ratify or accede to the agreement.
"The early legislative action by the entirety of the CVF membership would send a clear signal to the international community, encouraging highly industrialized economies, major emitting nations and all countries to follow suit," Legarda said. (Sunnex)