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The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has solidified its cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment Japan (MOEJ) towards a decarbonized and sustainable society at the Philippines-Japan Bilateral Environmental Policy Dialogue on March 2.

Acting Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Jim Sampulna said the Bilateral Environmental Policy Dialogue, which was part of the 1st Philippines-Japan Environmental Week, served as an avenue for further collaboration between the DENR and MOEJ to ensure the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and protection against the impact of climate change.

"The Philippines as an archipelagic country is one of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Our country has faced several typhoons in the past. Partnering with Japan in terms of technology and know-how on measures to mitigate climate change is indeed vital at this time," Sampulna said.

During the event, Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and International Affairs Jonas Leones said the department is looking forward to more fruitful cooperation between the governments of the Philippines and Japan.

"This dialogue is such a fitting example of our strategy to reach out to development partners to work on improving environmental conservation and protection in the country," Leones said.

Meanwhile, MOEJ Vice Minister Tokutaro Nakai said the agency is deepening its cooperation with the DENR based on existing cooperation programs through strategies such as Initiative on Fluorocarbons Life Cycle Management, Joint Crediting Mechanism, transparency reporting on greenhouse gas emissions, city-to-city collaboration, and knowledge and tools sharing on climate adaptation projects, and waste management technology support.

"In the area of climate change, we were able to confirm that there are some [possible] areas of cooperation such as the implementation of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) as well as the development of the long-term strategies and we will make efforts to work for that and we also hope to cooperate with you in the future attempts too," Nakai said.

Through a joint statement, the DENR and the MOEJ agreed to take actions to tackle climate change.

"On fluorocarbon, both sides confirm the ongoing and future cooperation between the DENR and the MOEJ in potential assessment of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) collection and destruction, capacity development of policymakers and technicians, and utilization of the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM), under the Initiative on Fluorocarbons Life Cycle Management (IFL)," read the joint statement.

Both governments will also work on advancing the lifecycle management of fluorocarbon in the Philippines and Japan in order to contribute to the Philippines' NDC through HFCs emissions reduction.

As part of the Partnership to Strengthen Transparency for co-Innovation (PaSTI) program, the DENR and MOEJ will continue to work together for capacity-building in the Industrial Processes and Product Use (IPPU) and waste sectors with active engagement of the private and local government stakeholders with a view to strengthening Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reporting and incentives for action.

"On adaptations, both sides confirm the importance of sharing the knowledge and tools for implementing adaptation projects in vulnerable communities through the Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Information Platform (AP-PLAT) and the National Integrated Climate Change Database Information and Exchange System (NICCDIES)," it said.

With regards to waste management, both governments will further collaborate towards the viability of waste-to-energy projects for the Philippines.

Leones added that the Philippines commits to a "projected greenhouse gas emission reduction and avoidance of 75 percent of which 2.71 is unconditional and 72.29 percent is conditional, representing the country’s ambition over the next decade."

Nakai said the MOEJ will accelerate its effort to decarbonize Asia for the establishment of the so-called "Asia zero-emissions community."

Aside from the Bilateral Environmental Dialogue, the Philippines-Environmental Week also hosted the technical level session on waste management, plenary sessions on climate change that tackled on necessary efforts of the government and the private sector towards a decarbonized and resilient society and best practices on city-to-city collaboration of Japan and the Philippines, seminars that discussed the Joint Crediting Mechanism Model, International Standard for Climate Change Adaptation, Participatory Land-Use Management approach, public-private sector dialogue on PaSTI Measurement, Reporting and Verification, including online exhibitions of Japan organizations for business matching. Department of Environment and Natural Resources