President Benigno Aquino 3rd and visiting French President Francois Hollande called on the rest of the world to act on climate change as they launched the Manila Call to Action on Climate Change following their bilateral meeting in Malacañang.
“Our Manila Call to Action on Climate Change represents solidarity in action. We are hopeful that this joint call will help us gain momentum for a truly global initiative to address climate change,” Aquino said.
“This statement, thus, is a welcome call to action: No longer can we be paralyzed by debates over the obligations of individual countries; all of us must do everything we can, in the quickest and most impactful way possible,” he added.
He said nations can unite to overcome the problem or together reap the consequences of apathy.
Aquino lamented that the Philippines has found itself at the forefront of climate change as he cited the destructive typhoons in recent years such as Yolanda.
He said the Philippines intends to attend and utilize every forum to voice the sentiments of those who are at the receiving end of global climate change.
“We will try to strive a consensus with every entity so that they can contribute the most at the quickest possible time,” he said.
Hollande sought Aquino’s support on the issue of climate change in light of preparations being made for the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties, or COP21, to the United Nations Framework Convention Climate Change in December this year.
