No more PH participation in climate change conferences — DFA chief

MANILA, Philippines — Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said he would turn down all official participation of the Philippines in climate change conferences that would necessitate air travel.

“I am rejecting all official participation in climate change conferences requiring air travel,” the foreign affairs chief said over Twitter on Wednesday.

“We’ll just vote Yes to radical proposals. No more talk,” he added.

Locsin’s tweet comes after President Rodrigo Duterte’s “answer to UN’s (United Nations) plea for yet another stronger stand against climate change—which he branded as more hot air.”

Following Duterte's answer to UN's plea for yet another stronger stand against climate change—which he branded as more hot air—I am rejecting all official participation in climate change conferences requiring air travel. We'll just vote Yes to radical proposals. No more talk. https://t.co/Q5jIAb3jFs

— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) June 4, 2019

During the President’s visit in Japan for the 25th Nikkei International Conference on The Future of Asia last week, he stressed that the destruction inflicted by natural disasters “is more painful for developing nations and for the poorest of the poor.”

Duterte, according to Malacañang, also “urged for greater accountability among developed countries stressing that ‘when the lives of millions hang in a balance, there has got to be a way.”

In 2017, Duterte signed the Paris Agreement on climate change despite earlier misgivings.

READ: Duterte finally signs Paris Agreement on climate change

The pact seeks to strengthen the international response to the threat of climate change by keeping the global average temperature rise to well below two degrees celsius above preindustrial levels.

The Philippines also earlier pledged to cut 70 percent in emissions by 2030. (Editor: Julie Espinosa)