Climate change must be tackled as urgently as COVID-19 pandemic – Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte appealed on Wednesday to parties of the Paris Agreement to comply with its terms as developing countries like the Philippines suffer the effects of climate change the most.

In his first-ever speech before the United Nations General Assembly, Duterte said climate change must be addressed with the “same urgency” needed in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Climate change has worsened the ravages of the pandemic. Peoples in developing countries like the Philippines suffer the most. We cannot afford to suffer more,” Duterte said

“The Philippines joined the Paris Agreement to fight climate change. We call on all parties, especially those who have not made good their commitment to fight climate change, to honor the same.”

“We call on all parties to strengthen communities and peoples for preparedness and resilience. We are talking about mankind and Earth, our one and only home,” he added.

It was in 2017 when Duterte signed the Paris Agreement, which detailed commitments to deal with climate change.

The Paris Agreement aims to strengthen global response by keeping the global average temperature this century to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

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