Marcos to developed countries: ‘Do more’ to fix climate injustice

FILE PHOTO: Smoke pours from a chimney at a cement plant in Binzhou city, in eastern China’s Shandong province, in this file photo. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. says developed nations “must do more” to alleviate climate change inequalities. Addressing the Australian Parliament on Thursday, February 29, 2024, Marcos stressed that the “glaring disproportion between our share of responsibility and our vulnerability reflects an injustice that must be corrected. Developed countries must do more. And they must do it now.” Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said developed nations “must do more” to alleviate climate change inequalities.

Addressing the Australian Parliament on Thursday, Marcos said that while the Philippines has the potential to become a net carbon sink – where carbon dioxide absorption is more than its emission, it is among the most disaster-prone countries in the world.

“This glaring disproportion between our share of responsibility and our vulnerability reflects an injustice that must be corrected. Developed countries must do more. And they must do it now,” he said.

According to the Australian Climate Change Authority’s website, the country had 467 million tonnes (roughly 423.6 million metric tons) of greenhouse gas emissions in 2023.

This is not the first time that Marcos has told a developed country with high greenhouse gas emissions to help address climate change.

In December 2023, Marcos urged Japan, one of the world’s leading greenhouse gas emitters, to bolster efforts for carbon neutrality.

READ: Bongbong Marcos asks Japan to back efforts for carbon neutrality

Also last year, the President urged leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to tell developed nations to fulfill their climate change obligations.

Marcos has vied for the Philippines to host the Loss and Damage Fund, which is an international fund to assist poorer countries disproportionately affected by climate change.