23 May 2016 – Enhanced engagement on climate change with other critical sectors was the key focus of a meeting chaired by the Philippines as President of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), a group of 43 developing and vulnerable countries that aims to provide a platform for exchanging information and best practices on how best to address climate change.

Ambassador Cecilia B. Rebong, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the UN and other International Organizations in Geneva, led the discussions on three events lined up to explore the intersections between climate change and the individual sectors of disaster preparedness, health, and labor.

On May 24, the Philippines as CVF President will take part in the Roundtable on Managing Natural Disasters and Climate Change during the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul from May 23 to 24. The CVF is expected to share its experience in the opportunities and challenges related to financing, with a view to increasing the preparedness of developing countries in responding to hazards.

Also on May 24, a panel discussion entitled Climate Change and Health: Taking Stock, Forging Solutions will gather health ministers and other policymakers to look at the impact of climate change on health systems and the ways through which the health sector can support and complement the goals of the climate change agreement adopted in Paris in December 2015.

Co-sponsored by the CVF and the United States, the panel discussion will be held on the margins of the World Health Assembly, the primary decision-making body of the World Health Organization.

Finally on June 08, a High-Level Dialogue on Climate Change and Labor is being arranged by the Philippines, on behalf of the CVF, with labor unions and employers’ organizations in order to look at the possible policy implications of a changing climate. For example, changing thermal conditions in the workplace can affect the health of workers and the productivity of businesses in industries with exposed populations, such as agriculture and construction.

The Dialogue will be held at the sidelines of the International Labor Conference.

“Addressing climate change means addressing it in all possible avenues,” said Ambassador Rebong. “The fact that its impact can be felt in all aspects of our lives demands that we give it commensurate attention even in sectors not often associated with environment-related concerns,” she added. END