FOUR Philippine cities need to come up with management plans and upgrade their infrastructure in order to respond to expected climate change risks in the future, independent organization World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-Philippines and BPI Foundation, Inc. said yesterday. The four cities are Baguio, Cebu, Davao and Iloilo.
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Speaking at the launch of the joint study titled “Business Risk Assessment and the Management of Climate Change Impacts,” Jose Ma. Lorenzo P. Tan, WWF-Philippines vice-chair and chief executive officer said that as the cities covered by the study face varying risks from climate change, local government units and investors in these areas need to look at opportunities to respond to such.
“Although different parts of the world will get affected, there is a localized variability; the mix, the intensity of mixes are locally specific,” Mr. Tan said.
The study analyzed the level of vulnerability of businesses by looking at each city’s specific exposure to climate-related events, socioeconomic features, adaptive capacity and scenario building. It then gave each city a score from one to ten, with one for least vulnerable to climate change and ten for most vulnerable.
The study showed that Baguio City was the most vulnerable to climate change impacts among the four cities, getting a score of 7.43%. It noted that since Baguio City has the highest recorded rainfall, climate trends indicate the situation is likely to get worse.
“The city’s economic dependence on land transportation through routes made frequently inoperable by landslides due to rainfall, will emerge as one of Baguio’s most significant development challenges,” the study read.
Emerging as the second most vulnerable city to climate change impacts is the city of Iloilo which got a score of 6.69%. With the city sitting on marshland, the study noted that it remains prone to floods.
Cebu City placed third in terms of its level of vulnerability to climate change with a score of 6.55%.
The study noted that as weather events become more extreme and frequent, Cebu City may find itself more affected by business disruptions from supply chain issues and work force dislocation.
The least vulnerable to climate change, meanwhile, was Davao City which received a score of 5.68%.
It said that while Davao does not experience typhoons, it will likely have to deal with climate impacts such as sea level rise, increased sea surface temperatures, and ocean acidification and so it will have to come up with climate smart zoning, as well as efficient land or sea access infrastructure.
BPI Foundation President Aurelio R. Montinola III said in the same event that the cities of Laoag, Dagupan, Zamboanga and Cagayan de Oro will be covered in next year’s study. - (Business World Online / by Louella D. Desiderio)
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