LIFESTYLE | June 17, 2020
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| (Image Source: Manila Standard/WWF Philippines) |
Batangas City, the provincial capitol of Batangas, is hailed as the Philippine winner in the 2019-2020 edition of World Wide Fund for Nature's (WWF) One Planet City Challenge (OPCC), joining the list of national winners from 22 different countries worldwide. The city's comprehensive climate mitigation and adaptation plan, which includes interventions based on city-based specific invulnerabilities, impressed urban sustainability experts from across the globe that make up the OPCC jury. It also reported an ambitious target for carbon neutrality by 2030 setting sights on fulfilling its vision of becoming the first carbon-neutral city in the Philippines.
In a letter from the OPCC team in Stockholm, the jury acknowledged the city's aggressive efforts in promoting climate risk assessment. It stated, "Batangas City showed particularly strong performance related to its vision. The city scored well across different indicators especially political action, climate risk assessment and evidence of action, especially related to adaptation. Aside from Batangas City, included in the country's roster of qualifiers for OPCC 2019-2020 are fellow finalists Muntinlupa and Sta. Rosa, Cagayan De Oro, Davao, Dipolog, La Carlota, Pasig, San Carlos, Tagum, Malolos, Parañaque and Quezon City. WWF Philippines executive director Joel Palma praised and commended Batangas City and other local qualifiers for representing the country in the said challenge and shared that the challenges the country is facing, more particularly the pandemic, proves that there is a direct link between the health of the environment and the health and well-being of the people.
Originally launched as the Earth Hour City Challenge, the One Planet City Challenge started in 2011 as a biennial global challenge where cities are encouraged to share climate mitigation and develop adaptation plans centered in their critical role of building a sustainable and climate-safe future. Being accountable for 70% of carbon emissions globally and generating 80% of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the political and economic power of cities are considered instrumental in the transition to a more stable climate. In this year's edition, nearly 66% of the global population was represented with 255 cities participating from 53 countries around the world.
The winners of the 2019-2020 OPCC are eligible to participate in We Love Cities, a WWF campaign interwoven with the One Planet City Challenge which aims to liaise better communication between city officials and the citizens they represent on climate change and sustainability issues. For more information and updates, check out https://panda.org/opcc/.
