Dubai, United Arab Emirates–The Philippines marked a milestone with the launching of its inaugural national pavilion here during the 2023 United Nations 28th Conference of Parties (COP28).
With the theme “Together Today for Tomorrow,” the Philippine Pavilion showcases the country’s scalable and concerted efforts in confronting the challenges and impacts of climate change.
“The pavilion manifests the Philippines’ commitment to climate action and to resilience. It was designed to convey our country’s contributions to local, national, and global climate challenges and is underpinned by three pillars that are embodied in our Philippine Development Plan of 2023 to 2028,” said Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga, head of the Philippine Delegation to COP28.
Loyzaga led the opening of the Philippine Pavilion, along with Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo, Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno and Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa,
Joining them are Department of Migrant Workers officer-in-charge Hans Leo Cacdac, Climate Change Commission Vice Chairperson and Executive Director Robert Borje, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, Science and Technology Secretary Renato Solidum Jr., Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Ferdinand Ver and Deputy Representative of the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the United Nations in New York Ambassador Leila Lora Santos.
“The Philippine Pavilion illustrates how the country combines climate change adaptation and mitigation with resilience and sustainable pathways rooted in equity. What you see is a showcase of the whole-of-country and whole-of-society approach that the Philippines takes in addressing climate change,” said Ver.
The Pavilion’s design represents the narrative of the country’s commitment to sustainability and resilience following the theme of “Ridge to Reef.” It is inspired by man-made structures coming together with the country’s rich natural resources and represented by traditional textile patterns in shades of blue and green. DENR News
To complement the design, digital tablets are spread across the Pavilion space where guests can scan QR codes to dive deeper into the videos and visual materials that best encapsulate the country’s scalable climate solutions. The Pavilion will embody the Philippine’s position for COP 28 to champion solutions centered around building resilient communities, protecting biodiversity and pursuing low-carbon economic development.
COP28, hosted by the United Arab Emirates, is the annual climate change negotiations within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. DENR News