16 academic institutions tapped to assist LGUs on climate change action plan

The Climate Change Commission (CCC) has tapped 16 academic institutions to provide technical assistance to their respective local government units (LGUs) on the development of Local Climate Change Action Plan (LCCAP).

CCC has slated several sessions this month for the Accelerated Climate Action and Transformation (ACT) online conference to orient representatives of 16 higher education institutions (HEIs) on climate science, issues, vulnerabilities, and risks, as part of the agency's Communities for Resilience (CORE): Convergence Initiative.

The participating HEIs have previously partnered with the Commission and expressed interest and support by providing technical assistance to their respective LGUs on the development of risk-informed local plans, including the LCCAP.

They are the Bulacan State University, Visayas State University, University of the Philippines Los Banos, Sulu State College, Palawan State University, Aklan State University, University of Antique, Northwestern Visayan Colleges, University of the Philippines Visayas Tacloban College, Eastern Visayas State University, Leyte Normal University, Philippine Science High School Eastern Visayas Campus, Palompon Institute of Technology, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture, Mapua University, and Baliuag University.

The CCC-led conference will feature experts who will orient the 16 participating HEIs on climate science; CORE Initiative; Rationalized Planning System and Enhanced Local Climate Change Action Plan (ELCCAP) development; Greenhouse Gas Inventory; Climate Change Expenditure Tagging; and accessing the People's Survival Fund.

The schedule of the conference will be held every Tuesday of October (October 6, 13, 20, and 27).

The first session last Oct. 6 featured discussions from the members of the CCC's National Panel of Technical Experts, Dr. Carlos Primo David and Dr. Glenn Roy Paraso.

The ACT program aims to formalize a sustainable partnership between the national government, academe, and the private sector in providing technical and/or financial resources to LGUs on climate action.

Through this, CCC said relevant stakeholders will be capacitated to assist and contribute to efforts that will generate information, boost capacity development, promote cooperation and convergence, facilitate vertical and horizontal alignment for development planning, and access to climate financing windows toward climate resiliency.