Press Release
November 11, 2009

URGES WASHINGTON TO COMMIT TO REDUCE CO2 EMISSIONS IN COPENHAGEN
CHIZ CALLS ON U.S. TO AID LUZON DISASTER REHAB

Opposition Sen. Chiz Escudero yesterday called on the United States to provide more development aid to Luzon to speed up disaster rehabilitation in areas affected by the recent calamities.

"Whatever amounts the United States can afford to give will surely be welcome to our people whose lives and properties were devastated by Ondoy, Pepeng, Ramil and Santi, " he said on the eve of the arrival of US State Secretary Hillary Clinton. She is expected to visit flood victims in Marikina during her overnight stay in Manila.

According to the USAID, about 60% of its economic assistance resources are targeted to Mindanao, for programs that promote economic growth, mitigate conflict, and promote peace and security. The US has also deployed most of its military assistance in conflict-areas in Mindanao and Sulu.

The 40-year old lawmaker also urged the Palace to ask Secretary Clinton for a reiteration of Washington's commitment to take steps to reduce carbon emissions during UN climate change talks from Dec. 7 to 18 in Copenhagen.

US President Barack Obama has said that it was a mistake for the United States not to have signed the Kyoto Protocol because US then was the world's biggest carbon producer.

In a recent forum in Istanbul, Obama also said that it did not make sense for the US to sign the Kyoto Protocol because it was about to end and declared its intention to make progress in confronting climate change in Copenhagen.

The Protocol was initially adopted on 11 December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan and entered into force on 16 February 2005. As of October 2009, 184 states have signed and ratified the protocol.

The latest data from the International Energy Agency however shows that China, with 6.1 billion metric tons, has overtaken the US (5,7552 billion mt) in CO2 emissions. The Philippines, on the other hand, produces only 71.8 million metric tons.

"Developing countries like the Philippines are the most vulnerable to natural calamities caused by climate change. We have seen, in the past month, a mere preview of what is in store for us if we don't act together to reverse the process," Escudero said.

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