Climate change in the Philippines

Both floods and droughts are predicted to increase.

Climate change is having serious impacts in the Philippines such as increased frequency and severity of natural disasters, sea level rise, extreme rainfall, resource shortages, and environmental degradation.[1] All of these impacts together have greatly affected the Philippines' agriculture, water, infrastructure, human health, and coastal ecosystems and they are projected to continue having devastating damages to the economy and society of the Philippines.[1]

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world.[2] The archipelago is situated along the Pacific Ocean's typhoon belt, leaving the country vulnerable to around 20 typhoons each year, a quarter of which are destructive.[3] The December 2021 typhoon known colloquially as Typhoon Odette caused around a billion dollars (₱51.8 billion) in infrastructure and agricultural damages and displaced about 630,000 people. The United Nations estimated that Typhoon Odette impacted the livelihoods of 13 million people, destroying their homes and leaving them without adequate food or water supplies.[4] More tragically, the physical and economic repercussions of Typhoon Odette led to the death of over 400 people as of December 2021.[4]

In addition to the Philippines' close proximity to the Pacific Ocean's typhoon belt, the Philippines is also located within the "Pacific Ring of Fire" which makes the country prone to recurrent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.[3] Compounding these issues, the impacts of climate change, such as accelerated sea level rise, exacerbate the state's high susceptibility to natural disasters, like flooding and landslides.[5] Aside from geography, climate change impacts regions with a history of colonization more intensely than regions without a history of colonization.[6] Colonized regions experience the repercussions of climate change most jarringly "because of their high dependence on natural resources, their geographical and climatic conditions and their limited capacity to effectively adapt to a changing climate."[6] Since low-income countries have a history of colonialism and resource exploitation, their environment lacks the diversity necessary to prevail against natural disasters.[7] A lack of biodiversity reduces the resilience of a specific region, leaving them more susceptible to natural disasters and the effects of climate change. With its history of Spanish colonization, the Philippines is not environmentally nor economically equipped to overcome issues it is currently dealing with, such as natural disasters and climate change. This inability to recover exacerbates the problem, creating a cycle of environmental and economic devastation in the country.[7]

  1. ^ a b "Climate Change Risk in the Philippines: Country Fact Sheet" (PDF). USAID. February 2017.
  2. ^ UNOCHA (March 2019). "About OCHA in The Philippines". Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Asian Disaster Reduction Center. "Information on Disaster Risk Reduction of the Member Countries". Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Typhoon Rai", Wikipedia, May 10, 2022, retrieved May 14, 2022
  5. ^ Perez, Rosa T.; et al. (August 1999), "Climate Change Impacts and Responses in the Philippines Coastal Sector", Climate Research, 12 (2/3): 97–107, Bibcode:1999ClRes..12...97P, doi:10.3354/cr012097, JSTOR 24866004
  6. ^ a b SMITH, PAUL J. (2007). "Climate Change, Weak States and the "War on Terrorism" in South and Southeast Asia". Contemporary Southeast Asia. 29 (2): 264–285. doi:10.1355/CS29-2C. ISSN 0129-797X. JSTOR 25798831.
  7. ^ a b Das Gupta, Monica (2014). "Population, Poverty, and Climate Change". The World Bank Research Observer. 29 (1): 83–108. doi:10.1093/wbro/lkt009. hdl:10986/22565. ISSN 0257-3032. JSTOR 24582389.