Legarda urges update of laws for better climate action and cultural preservation

Senator Loren Legarda urged climate-vulnerable nations, including the Philippines, to update their laws and policies to better address climate action and cultural preservation on Monday.

Legarda warned that continued climate inaction could result in annual productivity losses of PHP466 billion by 2030 and a 13 percent reduction in GDP by 2040 during her speech at the launch of the Accelerating Climate Action and Transformation (ACT) Local Programme in Sibalom, Antique.

The senator emphasized that climate change endangers lives, livelihoods, cultural identity, history, and heritage, necessitating broader definitions of risk to include cultural well-being.

Legarda called on policymakers to ensure their laws reflect a commitment to both climate action and cultural preservation, stressing the importance of preserving cultural memory and indigenous knowledge as central to climate resilience.

She urged colleagues in the Philippine Congress to fully implement the Climate Prosperity Plan to safeguard cultural treasures and empower communities, emphasizing that legislators must be stewards of the nation's future by prioritizing these efforts.

The CVF-V20 is a coalition of 74 countries highly vulnerable to climate change, including Bangladesh, Ghana, Sri Lanka, Barbados, and the Philippines.