21 JULY 2023 - Ambassador Theresa Dizon-De Vega shared Philippine priorities on climate change cooperation with the Republic of Korea at a roundtable on facilitating global net-zero organized by the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy on 21 July 2023. The meeting was chaired by ROK Minister of Trade Ahn Dukgeun.

Minister Ahn briefed Ambassadors present on the coordinating mechanism on climate issues, the development cooperation policies of the Korean government in terms of mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), and the ROK's goals on country-to-country facilitation to realize global net-zero. According to Minister Ahn, the Republic of Korea considers carbon neutrality as an indispensable focus and a global endeavor for investments in partner countries on climate cooperation.

For her part, Ambassador Dizon-De Vega informed the meeting that the Philippines has a very positive policy environment to come up with a regulatory framework and legal mandate to pursue net zero policies. She also emphasized that implementing measures to enhance the readiness of the public and private sectors to take on a net zero future is also in place.

Ambassador Dizon-De Vega likewise conveyed that although the Philippine government has yet to come up with a detailed net zero plan, the Philippines already has the building blocks moving towards this goal, and there is now a higher consciousness and a greater desire to accelerate the transition to net zero and pave the way to a green transition.

Ambassador Dizon-De Vega also noted that the government remains committed to climate mitigation, as the PH national budget carries the highest allocation for climate expenditures by far, consisting mainly of the promotion of renewable energy and improvement of traffic infrastructure-mobility to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. She also conveyed that key priorities for the ROK and the Philippines include unlocking new areas for cooperation on renewable energy development, addressing the low transfer and diffusion of green technology, two-pronged for capacity building and data gathering and analysis, green farming or creating green value-based chains in emission-intensive industries, and low emission tracking technologies.

Ambassadors and heads of the diplomatic missions of Vietnam, Bangladesh, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, and Mongolia attended the briefing. Senior officials from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency and the Korea Energy Agency were also in attendance. Ambassador Dizon-De Vega was joined by Third Secretary and Vice Consul Reisha Olavario.

The Philippines continues to work with international development cooperation partners like the Republic of Korea to turn climate commitments into action, charting the course towards achieving a climate and disaster-resilient, inclusive, and green and blue recovery. END