Marcos: Private help needed to ‘green’ economy

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. called on the private sector to help in the “greening” of the economy, calling the building of resiliency to climate change a top administration priority.

Government agencies, private companies, non-government organizations, and the academic community must work together “to steer our practices and systems towards a greener direction,” Mr. Marcos said at a forum organized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

“I have always believed that there is no greater shared responsibility than the care of our environment,” he said.

“Let us identify each sector’s unique and shared challenges, bolster cooperation and gather information and priorities for possible inclusion in the DENR’s policy agenda and to be included in the multi-year roadmap for programs, activities and projects,” he added.

Participants at the DENR-hosted event are expected to provide their input on climate and disaster resilience policy.

“We ensure that the initiatives we will take will enable us to become smarter, more responsible, more sustainable in all that we do,” Mr. Marcos said.

At the United Nations General Assembly last month, Mr. Marcos urged that developed nations provide financing to poorer countries to address the “historical injustice” of climate change, which is thought to have been caused by the countries that industrialized early.

Mr. Marcos also asked them to transfer adaptation technology to vulnerable nations like the Philippines. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza