CLARK FREEPORT – The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Bank of Philippines Islands Foundation (BPIF) bared here its climate change study, revealing that Angeles City is the “least vulnerable” among 12 cities it has assessed so far in the country.
WWF-Philippines Vice Chair and CEO Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan said the study was meant to help the cities prepare for climate impacts. Briefing various sectors at Widus Hotel here yesterday, Tan noted that the ranking of Angeles came amid projections that Metro Manila already “represents a concentrated risk,” as he called the government to decentralize the country’s capital even to the extent of transferring main government executive departments to move to the provinces.
The second phase of the WWF study was initiated last year and covered the cities of Angeles, Naga, Tacloban, and Batangas. Tan noted that two months before Typhoon Yolanda devastated Taclocan, his group had forewarned the city of its vulnerability.
Earlier, the WWF and BPIF had also conducted similar studies in eight other cities in the country. The study ranked the cities according to their vulnerability to the effects of climate change. In the order of their vulnerability, the list of cities is as follows: Baguio, Dagupan, Tacloban, Iloilo, Cagaya de Oro, Cebu, Zamboanga, Naga, Laoag, Batangas, Davao, and Angeles.
“Climate exposure, socioeconomic sensitivities, and adaptive capacities are melded to generate scores which
show each city’s climate vulnerability. A chronic recommendation is to climate proof local infrastructure by moving coastal roads and communities to high ground, improving community drainage systems and investing in natural solutions like mangrove forests to parry inbound storms,” Tan noted.
Noting that Angeles is the least vulnerable, Tan called on the government to decide on finally fully developing the Clark International Airport here, amid projections that the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) has already
reached beyond its lifespan. “Why build a new airport when there is an existing one?” he asked.
