Pasig City, 18 March 2016 – National and local governments in the Philippines gathered today to discuss greenhouse gas inventory processes and climate actions needed to reach the nationally determined contribution (NDC) which sets emission reduction target of 70 per cent by 2030.

Representatives from seven cities of Metro Manila and five national government agencies attended the roundtable discussion, which aimed to facilitate local and national partnerships, increase interaction and highlight issues.

The event was organized by UN-Habitat, as part of the Vertical Integration and Learning on Low Emission Development (V-LED) project, in partnership with adelphi research and supported by the International Climate Initiative (IKI)- Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB). The event was co-hosted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB).

The event featured speakers from the national and local level:

• Mr Albert A. Magalang, Chief of the Climate Change Division of DENR-EMB provided an overview of the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) and actions specifically related to solid waste management, which is predominately an activity of the local government units.
• City of Santa Rosa’s Environment and National Resources Officer, Ms Erlinda Creencia, shared good practices of the city and the processes and outcomes of conducting GhG inventories.

The roundtable discussions highlighted the need for increased capacity building to conduct greenhouse gas (GhG) inventories at the local level, including making it a mandatory requirement for local government units (LGUs) to have a focal point on GhG emissions within the LGU’s environmental office.

Training activities could focus on how to use the guidebooks of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR, enhancement of the current guideline on Local Climate Change Action Plan (LCCAP) preparation, good  practice exchange series, MRV or measurement, reporting and verification as well as monitoring and evaluating inventory processes.

In the Dialogue Event, it was  explained that there were onlyt 40 LGUs that  have completed trainings on GhG inventories out of more than 1,400nationwide (as part of an USAID capacity building project). LGU representatives highlighted the difficulties of gathering data for GhG inventories, particularly from industry and the private sector. LGUs requested support from the national government to give greater authority to LGUs to request data from industry or to make it a requirement of businesses to submit, disclose and report their GhG emissions. The need for increased consultations by the national agencies at the local level was raised, as well as increased IEC and knowledge management activities.

The cities represented at the event included Caloocan, Malabon, Novotas, Valenzuela, Pasig, Santa Rosa and Quezon. At the national level, DENR-EMB, Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, Local Government Academy, National Solid Waste Management Council and National Economic Development Authority.