Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda said on Wednesday that climate change should be an electoral issue, and she asked presidential candidates in next year’s elections to incorporate climate action in their separate Covid-19 recovery plans.
In a media forum, Legarda stated that the problem of climate and environment should be addressed in the national pandemic recovery, stating that it would only be effective if it is connected with the climate route.
She stated that she expects to see a candidate that truly supports the climate agenda, which is presently not being discussed in the national debate.
“There is no recovery from Covid-19 unless we attack it on the issue of environment and climate. A pandemic recovery is essential to our survival if we align it to the climate pathway,” Legarda said.
“So, I ask all our national candidates to lay out their climate agenda and what they’ve done in their lives for the environment or what they intend to do and can do. That would be ideal,” she pointed out.
According to Legarda, the climate issue is important to people’s lives, and solving it would need a whole-of-government strategy.
“The issue of climate is connected to sustainable livelihoods. The issue of climate is related to rural livelihoods; the issue of climate is related to our health care systems; the issue of climate is connected to the issue of education, agriculture, and fisheries,” she said.
“It (climate change) is an issue of the here and now for our sheer survival,” Legarda