The Oscar M. Lopez Center for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management Foundation Inc. (OML Center) and Climate Change Commission (CCC) launched the Philippine Climate Change Assessment (PhilCCA) Reports of Working Groups (WG) 2 and 3 at the opening ceremonies of the Global Warming and Climate Change Consciousness Week.

The PhilCCA is the first comprehensive assessment synthesizing the scientific information from peer-reviewed publications and technical reports on climate change knowledge in the Philippines. The WG1 Report on the “Physical Science Basis,” released two years ago, provided the first comprehensive assessment of climate change science in the country.

The WG2 Report, which first came out last year, provides an assessment of the current understanding on climate change impacts, vulnerabilities, and adaptation in the Philippines. It focuses on the following main themes: ecosystems, their properties and services; freshwater resources and their management; coastal systems and low-lying areas; agriculture and fisheries; and human health.

The last installment in this PhilCCA series, the WG 3 Report focuses on the assessment of climate change mitigation in the Philippines. It discusses key topics, including state of global atmospheric concentrations of GHGs and the Philippines’ duty as a signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); institutional arrangements and policies related to mitigation; the Philippine national GHG inventories; approaches to climate change mitigation; and mitigation pathways and measures in the context of sustainable development. The key findings of this report will be presented at the 2nd National Convention on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction on November 22 at SMX Convention Center Aura, Taguig City.

The OML Center embarked on the PhilCCA project with CCC in 2013. It is patterned after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Reports and provides an assessment on three main issues: climate science, adaptation and mitigation. Each report is developed by working groups composed of experts and government officers who volunteer as authors and reviewers.

The release of the reports supports the 2018 Climate Change Consciousness Week theme, “1.5˚C Climate Challenge: Survive and Thrive Together”, by underscoring the importance of science-based and informed planning, decision-making and resilience-building.

Visit the OML Center’s Philippine Climate Change Assessments pages to access copies of the PhilCCA reports.