16 PH cities qualify for ‘One Planet City Challenge’ 2021-2022

MINERVA BC NEWMAN

CEBU CITY – Sixteen cities from the Philippines qualified for the 2021-2022 One Planet Challenge (OPCC) as announced by the World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines during the launching of OPCC 2021-2022 on April 15 this year.

The OPCC celebrates measures taken by cities across the globe toward combating climate change and reducing their carbon footprint to keep global warming within the 1.5°C limit.  Almost 600 cities from 53 countries have participated in the OPCC over the past ten years.

Joining the roster of qualifiers for the first time are the cities of Baguio, Legazpi, Ormoc, San Fernando in La Union, and Vigan. Meanwhile, Batangas City, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Dipolog, Makati, Pasig, Quezon City, San Carlos in Negros Occidental, Santa Rosa, Tagum City and Zamboanga City are returning for OPCC 2021-2022.

“The addition of five Philippine cities to the OPCC roster is a welcome sign of a more sustainable future. We honor what these cities have achieved, and we look forward to working with them over the next two years,” WWF-Philippines One Planet Cities Project Manager Imee Bellen said.

Bellen added that they are grateful to the 11 recurring city participants that chose to continue their engagement as this means that OPCC provides greater encouragement to strengthen their commitments.

According to WWF that participating cities are to submit reports detailing their respective emissions, as well as plans and goals for climate action in their localities. These plans will be checked by a panel of experts against a methodology derived from the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C.

The qualifiers are to undergo an assessment framework to evaluate the city's climate targets and their alignment with the Paris Agreement. Participants will also receive guidance on the most effective actions to help them along this decarbonization pathway towards net zero by 2050 at the latest, Bellen explained.

WWF-Philippines partnered with ICLEI Southeast Asia to guide participating Philippine cities on their reporting through a series of city workshops and consultations.

 OPCC awards global winners

For each run, OPCC awards a global winner for their sustainability measures.  Previous OPCC global winners include Vancouver, Canada in 2013; Cape Town, South Africa in 2014; Seoul, South Korea in 2015; Paris, France in 2016; Uppsala, Sweden in 2018; and Mexico City, Mexico in 2020.

Local winners are also decided per participating country.  In 2020, Batangas City was hailed as country winner for the Philippines. Santa Rosa was the country winner in 2016, while Pasig City took the top spot in 2018.

The OPCC is also an opportunity for WWF-Philippines to help local governments expand on their actions to combat climate change. Over the next two years, WWF-Philippines will be working closely with participating cities to help them analyze their climate action plans and identify solutions to meet their mitigation and adaptation targets.

The United Nations estimates that approximately 4.2 billion people live in cities and urban centers, which amounts to 55 percent of the worlds’ population.

According to UN Habitat, cities produce 60 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing the carbon footprints of cities is a crucial step toward combating climate change. (Photos: WWF/Google Images)