Climate change is happening right now – and all of us must respond immediately. What is at stake, what can we do, and just how much time do we have left?

Written by Henrik Batallones

 

First, the facts, as they stand.

The Philippines is prone to disasters that are directly connected to climate change. Every year we see an average of twenty typhoons enter the Philippine area of responsibility, and while not all of them would make landfall, some of these storms would cause widespread loss of life and damage. Eight of the country’s ten most destructive typhoons struck in the last ten years, the most recent being typhoon Odette, which caused damages worth PHP 51.8 billion – just behind Yolanda, one of the most powerful cyclones ever recorded.

Shifts in global temperatures are also causing disruptive weather-related events across the world: record heat waves in Europe, destructive forest fires in Australia, extreme rainfall in India and China. Nineteen of the hottest years on record have been recorded since 2000, with 2016 and 2020 tied for being the hottest. Experts attribute these changes to increased greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide stemming from human activity.

In 2016, the Paris Agreement, signed by 195 parties, took effect. Its goal is to limit the global increase in mean temperature to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels – a goal seen to substantially reduce the effects of climate change. To do so, countries must strive to reduce emissions as soon as possible, and reach net-zero – balancing current carbon emissions with efforts towards its removal – by the middle of this century.

Recent months, however, have seen alarm bells rung over the world’s commitment to mitigate global temperature rises and minimizing the impact of climate change. The COP26 summit held in Glasgow last November saw participating countries reaffirm the Paris agreement’s goals of limiting temperature rises to 1.5 °C, specifically calling for a 45% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. However, wrangling between countries led to a commitment on phasing out coal and fossil fuel subsidies being dropped from the final agreement.

Louder alarm bells were rung with the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest report. Compiled by the world’s top scientists with the backing of the United Nations, it stated that massive and immediate cuts in greenhouse gas emissions must be done if we are to avoid warming of 1.5 °C or higher. The effects of climate change will impact the whole world, with 3.3 billion people – roughly 40% of the world’s population, mostly from developing countries – classified as highly vulnerable. Global temperature rises will impact biodiversity, food security, migration patterns due to rising sea levels, and health, particularly an increased risk for the emergence of infectious diseases like COVID-19. Bluntly, it puts the blame “unequivocally” on human activities.

The final part of the IPCC report, released last April, says it is “inevitable” we will overshoot our 1.5 °C targets – but with immediate and decisive action, this would be temporary and global temperatures may normalize by the end of the century. Everything is on the table, from changing our lifestyles and diets to managing our energy use. Existing strategies, such as reforestation, and emerging technologies, such as carbon capture, will also be essential. But the report says they will not be enough. What’s critical is that the world collectively stops the use of fossil fuels, particularly coal, and transitions to renewable energy sources.

Again, the consequences of inaction are dire. In a 2019 study, the organization Climate Central said that the Philippines is among the countries most vulnerable to a rise in sea levels caused by global temperature rises. The impact goes beyond the coastal communities that would cease to exist: climate change will have an effect on our economy, the availability of food and resources, and perhaps even to social order.

The alarm is such that stories on climate change are no longer just the concern of environmentalists and like-minded individuals. Between actions of groups like Extinction Rebellion, social media protests like the recent #LetTheEarthBreath movement, and younger generations thinking twice about starting a family, it’s past time we do something.

 

Any discussion on what we can do to combat the worst effects of climate change will inevitably branch out into many things. A challenge so wide-reaching would have many possible solutions, and across the supply chain many have attempted to address them, in response to both customer preferences and a wider sense of corporate responsibility.

One such solution centers on the use of plastics in packaging, widely seen as polluting and a significant contributor to flooding in communities. Already many manufacturers, retailers and local governments have taken steps to reduce plastic use and move towards more environmentally-friendly materials, from Quezon City implementing a levy on plastic bags to encourage the use of tote bags, to direct selling company Personal Collection moving to shift to biodegradable packaging in their products. This is happening alongside our customers reducing their own plastic use, from the adoption of metal straws to the use of reusable containers and bags in establishments.

However, these efforts can feel like a bit of patchwork, considering how inconsistently they are applied depending on where you are. They also do not encourage customers to adopt behaviors that will make shifting away from the use of single-use plastics easier. Several initiatives try to address these concerns. There is pending legislation, the Single-Use Plastics Regulations Act, which aims to implement a timeline for the phasing out of single-use plastics, and encouraging manufacturers and retailers to espouse material recovery schemes and promote use of recyclable materials. Last July it passed the House of Representatives.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Alliance on Recycling and Material Sustainability, which brings together stakeholders from the public and private sector, have drafted a road map that encourages the development of these recycling and material recovery facilities. It hopes to put in place an infrastructure that would support a shift away from single-use plastics, and truly support consumer-side efforts such as trash segregation. PARMS also believes these initiatives will leave a long-term positive impact on the economy, with an investment value of around PHP 15.1 billion and up to 4,000 new jobs generated.

A challenge, however, is the nature of the plastics we use today. Recycling plastics is a complicated process, for one. There are seven types of plastics, and while it may be easy to reuse these materials like-for-like, most packaging we see nowadays are likely to be a combination of different kinds of plastics, and so are much more difficult to recycle. Also, the demand for recycled plastics is not strong, save for a few types, like recycled PET bottles. Another concern is the durability of purely recycled plastics; virgin raw materials would have to be reintroduced to the mix for these products to remain satisfactorily usable. Perhaps the technology to solve these issues is on the horizon, but it’s likely to be years away, and may come with a prohibitively steep price tag.

Another focus of current sustainability efforts is on the energy we use, both in powering our homes and workplaces, as well as in enabling our mobility. Efforts to embrace renewable energy have been in place for decades, although 70% of our energy mix comes from fossil fuels, according to the latest report from Climate Transparency. The government aims to increase the country’s renewable energy generation capacity – including geothermal, hydropower, wind and solar – to at least 20,000 megawatts by 2040, and continue the promotion and development of biofuels for vehicles. This has received a greater urgency as fuel prices go up due to the war in Ukraine, and the looming depletion of the Malampaya gas field by 2027, meaning we may increase our reliance on fossil fuels to fulfill our energy needs – not to mention rotating power outages impacting our economic competitiveness.

A perennial challenge is the cost of developing facilities for wind and solar power. However, in recent years more such facilities have gone online. For example, Solar Philippines’ solar farm in Tarlac, which opened in 2021, now contributes 200 gigawatts per hour to the Luzon grid. Meanwhile, construction on new wind farms in Ilocos Norte and Aklan is underway, set to supplement operational farms in Rizal and the Ilocos region. Meanwhile, some private establishments are installing solar panels in their facilities, a path taken, for example, by mall operators SM and Robinson’s. One hopes that with more such facilities going online, the cost of power from these sources would go down and make it a more affordable option for businesses and residents alike.

Meanwhile, the use of biofuels continues to be enabled by the Biofuels Act of 2006, which mandates the mixing of biofuels, preferably locally-made, in gas being used in motor vehicles. While the Philippines is the first country in Southeast Asia to mandate this, neighboring countries have since accelerated their biofuel adoption and have surpassed our country, according to a 2017 report by the US Department of Agriculture. It cites inadequate investments in distilleries and distribution infrastructure, as well as a lack of financial support from the government. As a result, we rely more on imported ethanol to hit the blends mandated by law.

Outside of fuel use, the quality of the vehicles we use to transport goods and people are also essential. The government mandates vehicles in the country are compliant with the Euro 4 emission standard, but acquiring these can be a challenge for smaller logistics operators, particularly considering how most cargo trucks in the country are second-hand and refurbished. The cost of upgrading is also an issue with sea vessels, a critical component of domestic supply chains in an archipelago like ours. That said, several global logistics providers are starting to provide customers options to ensure more sustainable transport.

As principals demand more trips with smaller drops, the use of more energy-efficient vehicles is becoming increasingly viable. The use of electric vehicles, for one, is set to accelerate, both due to private sector support (take Mober acquiring a fleet of EV trucks for their deliveries) and to the recently passed Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act, which provides some fiscal incentives to those importing EVs, as well as building charging stations and manufacturing parts. However, the cost of these vehicles will remain prohibitively high in the foreseeable future, and one hopes the government provides wider support to encourage adoption and drive costs down.

 

Plastic and fuel use are just some of the many factors we need to consider if we are to make our supply chains more sustainable. How are our operations affecting the biodiversity of our localities, as well as that of our suppliers’ and partners’? Are we taking steps to ensure we do not pollute our environment and negatively impact the communities that host us? Are we ensuring we are getting our raw materials and other components for manufacturing and distribution responsibly and ethically? Are our efforts truly meaningful and have tangible, lasting impacts, rather than just PR exercises that barely move the needle?

Embracing sustainability in every facet of our operations requires many, if not difficult, conversations with all stakeholders – partners, employees, communities, governments and customers. This is important considering the wide-reaching consequences of our actions – and the urgent need to act now, in light of warnings by scientists and experts that we are quite close to missing the opportunity to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. Of course, doing so would be good news for our business as well, as it allows us to get a headstart on future customer demands, ensure we are ready for any potential disruptions, and secure our competitiveness now and in the years ahead.

One approach is to adopt the mindset of a circular economy, where we design our products and our supply chains around the idea of products being reused and repurposed, rather than being disposed of. This requires us to revisit everything from the design and composition of our products, to our manufacturing processes, to transport and retail solutions that facilitate product returns and material recovery, to how we repurpose and improve on old products and bring them back to the market.

In a white paper released early this year, logistics giant DHL argues that this requires close collaboration between manufacturers, logistics providers, consumers and the government. It’s the interplay between the four categories that will foster innovation, encourage novel solutions and promote the possibilities to customers who are increasingly conscious of their environmental footprints.

Already we are seeing the private sector make significant steps towards more sustainable supply chains, from innovating on both product design and distribution, to moving towards decarbonized and transparent processes to ensure targets are met. But the government plays a very important role not just in ensuring current efforts are harmonized and effective, but in fostering an environment where innovations and strategies with an eye towards sustainability are developed.

It is essential for the government to prioritize businesses that will not just promote sustainable practices, but promulgate them to the rest of the economy. It can do so by lowering barriers to entry and providing fiscal and other forms of support, in exchange for targets that ensure their innovations become commonplace across the economy, and that it becomes a truly meaningful part of our efforts to address the issue of climate change. As our economy begins its recovery from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has never been a better time to pivot towards a sustainable and decarbonized economy. Perhaps, if we play our cards right, we can take the lead in the region on this front.

The government’s role also goes beyond fostering innovation. The IPCC states that we need significant lifestyle shifts to help hit our climate goals. For instance, the pandemic has shown that we can work and shop without leaving our homes (for the most part), with an obvious impact on air pollution and emissions – how do we encourage this behavior further? The pandemic also encouraged Filipinos to spend time in open spaces – how do we develop more of them, and make them more accessible? And how can we go there while keeping our footprints to a minimum? More transport options, from mass transit systems to infrastructure supporting personal mobility, are one answer. How do we develop the infrastructure and systems that will encourage people to take those up?

Finally, the government plays a key role in crafting and enforcing policies that compel businesses to look at the environmental impact of their operations and act accordingly. A strict regulatory environment with clear consequences for offending parties would accelerate adoption of sustainable practices across the economy, and also encourage citizens to do the same in their households.

When the Philippines signed the Paris agreement in 2015, it contributed only 0.34% of global greenhouse gas emissions, way behind China and the United States. Arguably our efforts won’t make a dent against what should be done by major industrialized countries and multinational conglomerates. And yet, we are falling behind in our own efforts. Climate Transparency reports that our total emissions are set to increase at current rates. While industrial processes and power generation – particularly coal power plants – are the largest contributors, transport emissions amount to 29% of our country’s total.

We know that we are especially vulnerable to the worst impacts of climate change. We see this with increasing regularity as stronger typhoons hit our islands. We see this as floods inundate more of our communities. We will see this when extreme weather events impact the output of our farms and the health of our people.

The time to collaborate is now. The time to innovate is now. The time to disrupt for the better is now. The race towards more sustainable supply chains is long on, and while we may be behind, it’s never too late to catch up. We have a lot to lose if we don’t – and a lot to gain if we do.

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