PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has explained that he will not acknowledge the Paris agreement on climate change because its provisions are “not clear” to him.
“This treaty in Paris, there is no treaty to honor. We have not signed the treaty; we just committed to draft a treaty for us so that we can be able to present our game plan and signed the treaty. That’s pending in Congress because I said that’s not clear,” the President said on Friday afternoon in a speech he delivered in Buluan, Maguindanao.
Duterte made the statement following his pronouncement last Monday that he will not implement the climate change pact in the country once it takes effect.
“That’s (Paris agreement on climate change) stupid. I will not honor that,” he said.
The Philippines is among the 178 countries, which signed the treaty but is has yet to ratify it. Of the signatories, about 19 have already ratified the agreement, which is not enough for the treaty to enter into force.
If 55 countries already ratify the agreement, the participants are mandated to hold the increase in the global temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Duterte, however, expressed his strong disapproval on its implementation and even took a swipe to China, America, and Europe that have started the greenhouse gases emission but are willing to adopt the agreement since the respective countries already flourished.
“You know, this invented climate change, there is really change. But who caused it? It’s us… All the years, the industrialization from the 60s, 70s, it was China, America, Europe that emit [greenhouse gases]. Now that they have reached the pinnacle of economic power, they also want to follow them,” the President said.
“You are the first to emit, there are your carbon footprints. It shows in there. While our country is just heading to what you have reached,” he added.
Should the country consider the climate deal, Duterte said it would limit the progress of the country.
“How could I approve [the treaty] if I do not know what restrictions there will be? That’s difficult… So let us be clear, give me a clear view of what will happen to the treaty if we decide or the Senate will agree with it and concur it,” the President said. (Sunnex)