ANGELES City Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan, also League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) national president, was among the key resource speakers during the World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature forum held over the weekend at Marco Polo Hotel in Pasig City.
Pamintuan shared Angeles City’s best practices through a presentation entitled “Urbanization and Green Growth,” highlighting the initiatives of the local government in creating a greener city vis-à-vis its ongoing urban renewal efforts.
The report focused on various legislative measures that the city took such as the passing of Ordinance No. 431 or the Environmental Code of Angeles City, which provides for the Air and Water Quality and Waterways management in the city, among others. He also furthered that the city government is requiring business establishments to donate and/or conduct tree-planting activities prior to the issuance or renewal of their business permits under Ordinance No. 456.
The institutionalization of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro), the Angeles City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (ACDRRMO), and the Task Force One Million Trees are also instrumental to the city’s drive to reverse the effects of Climate Change.
Pamintuan revealed in his report the rising of the first Waste2Worth Facility in the country in 2020 to be built in partnership with Sure Global Waste to Worth Innovations. The city government will be able to save up to P100 million as the plant will convert daily city waste products into energy.
The formulation of an enhanced Comprehensive Land Use Plan and a Local Climate Change Action Plan in partnership with UN Habitat are also in the pipeline, said Pamintuan.
Capping his talk, the mayor pointed the importance of urban greening in the global war to defend, preserve, and regenerate the environment where he particularly cited the conversion of nine blighted sites in the city into urban gardens and pocket parks. These are now hosts to various sports and cultural activities in the city.
“Let me assure you that other cities are doing the same, if not better. I think by now we all realize that we all need to get our acts together if we are to save our communities, cities, countries and our planet from climate-related crises and disasters,” the LCP president urged.
The WWF One Planet Cities is committed to increasing political leadership, public engagement and entrepreneurship to transform cities that enable all people to thrive and prosper while respecting the ecological limits of the planet.
In 2015, 196 countries including the Philippines agreed to the Paris Convention to adopt a global agreement to reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions. The Philippines committed to a 70 percent reduction in GHG emissions by 2030. (PR)