PH Ups Carbon Emission Cut Targets in Updated NDC, Still Relies on International Aid

The Philippines has finally updated its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the United Nations, recommitting to a 75% emissions reduction and adjusting its unconditional emissions reduction targets from 2.1% to 7%. The remaining 68% of the target is conditional, relying on international support. NDCs are climate pledges that parties to the 2015 Paris Agreement are required to submit to the UN every five years. While the Philippines' latest NDC submission was delayed, its increased unconditional commitment of 7% has been hailed as a "massive improvement" by observers and experts. Aksyon Klima Pilipinas (AKP), an environmental NGO, welcomed the update as a sign of commitment to implementing emissions mitigation solutions. However, AKP also highlighted that the country's capacity to implement its own solutions has been depleted by corruption, citing flood control scandals as evidence. The group stressed that a higher unconditional target necessitates higher allocations in the national budget for 2027 and beyond to ensure proper implementation of identified NDC solutions, from nature-based solutions to improved energy efficiency and conservation. Meanwhile, Gerry Arances, Executive Director of the Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED), sounded the alarm that the Philippine government’s nationally determined contributions (NDC) do not include a concrete commitment to phase out fossil fuels. He stated this is a "severe misalignment not only from international commitments to mitigate global temperature rise below 1.5℃, but also from the government’s duty to ensure the climate survival of Filipinos." Arances added that the latest report from the United Nations Environment Programme indicates the world is set to overshoot the 1.5°C goal, with best-case scenarios now pegged at 1.8°C. "With the transition away from fossils being non-negotiable to combating the climate crisis, the government’s lack of firm commitment to phase out fossil fuels signals less than minimal efforts to protect our communities and to contribute to the global struggle," he continued. In its updated NDC, the Philippines admits that adaptation, rather than mitigation, remains its priority, given its "minimal contribution to global GHG emissions." According to Our World in Data, the Philippines emitted a total of 175 million tonnes of CO2 in 2024, accounting for only about 0.45% of the world's total CO2 emissions for the same year. This is a stark contrast to emissions from China (12.3 billion tonnes) or Europe (4.88 billion tonnes). In its statement, AKP echoed Arances and CEED, saying a missing element "from the 2026 NDC is a decarbonization pathway aligned with the long-term goal of the Paris Agreement to limit warming to 1.5°C." The group added, "Having this pathway is the benchmark with which we assess the implementation of the nation’s climate strategies - not just the NDC, but also in other areas of climate work, such as carbon markets and just transition." AKP stated that pursuing "low-carbon development" is impossible "without leaving fossil fuels behind." Sustina co-founder Anna Reyes went back to the ratio of 7% unconditional against 68% conditional and said it is "a little mind-boggling. I don’t know how to read that as anything other than a decision to do the minimum domestically and frame the rest as someone else’s responsibility." Information source: GMA News Philippines