The Business of Climate Change

“There is such a thing as limit to growth; there is such a thing as sustainable development. We aim not to stop businesses, but to make them sustainable. What will happen to Palawan if we utilize all its resources? This is the last frontier. You cannot protect what you cannot value; you cannot value what you do not understand.”

Sec. Neric Acosta
Head of CALD Climate Change Committee
Philippine Presidential Adviser for Environmental Protection

The Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) Secretariat, together with the Philippine Climate Change Commission (PCCC), World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Philippines, and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Environmental Protection (OPAEP), convened last 14-15 November 2014 in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines for “The Business of Climate Change Participants Workshop and Breakfast and Symposium”. Hosted by the Palawan Chamber of Commerce, with the support of the Puerto Princesa City Government, the event aimed to promote climate change awareness, and encourage appropriate responses among the participants, especially the business sector to climate change impacts. In particular, the symposium tackled the different environmental problems that Palawan is now facing and the possible solutions and preventive measures that the local government and other stakeholders may take into consideration.

The two-leg event was able to provide comprehensive and eye-opening facts regarding climate change and how it affects Palawan. On day one, the workshop enabled the participants to provide inputs and brainstorm about climate change adaptation and the future of the province. Participants represented various stakeholders, namely: the business sector, the academe, non-government organizations, civil society, and others. Philippine Commissioner on Climate Change Naderev “Yeb” Saño spearheaded the workshop with his very informative presentation that raised the question, “Is climate change for real?” and proceeded with a very substantial and moving report on how to understand and adapt to climate change.

The Breakfast Symposium on day two created a spectrum of understanding and enlightenment about global warming among ordinary people, academicians, students, government officials, and intellectuals, especially during the open forum. There was a myriad of smart, interesting, and controversial exchange of questions and answers that showed participants’ interest on and concern about climate change. To a large extent, this was due to the provocative inputs of the speakers, the so-called “triumvirate of environmental politics” in the Philippines, namely: Mr. Lory Tan of WWF, Commissioner Saño, and Secretary Acosta. Secretary Acosta concluded his presentation with a poignant statement: “We are really part of the web of life, and there is a saying that goes only when the last river is dried up, when the last fish died, when the last tree has fallen, then perhaps we will know and realize that we really cannot eat money. I am not saying that we do not need money, as I keep on saying, but we should appreciate currencies on how it should be appreciated, which is investment in the sustainability of ecosystem, because that’s where we all come from, and that’s where we will all return.”