Philippines to ratify UN climate deal by July

The Philippines will ratify the landmark international Paris Agreement after pressure from the Obama administration and France.

On Monday, Gerard Miquel – French Senator and President of the France-Southeast Asia Inter-Parliamentary Friendship group – met with Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. who declared that the Philippines will ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Pressure from the outgoing US administration and France has proved successful as President Rodrigo Duterte had previously stated that the country would not honour the commitments it made under the Paris climate change deal.

The Paris Agreement entered into force last November.

To date, 123 of the 197 signatories have ratified the Agreement.  

Miquel said: "We met this morning with the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, who very much assured us of the willingness of the Philippine government to ratify the agreement by July”.

His statements were later confirmed by Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III.

Pimentel said:  "The projected timetable is by middle of this year it will be submitted to the Senate for concurrence. That is the information received by the delegation from the executive branch". 

Before the agreement can be signed by the President, 33 government agencies and private groups must submit their Certificates of Concurrence (COCs).

At present, it is believed all but one agency – the Department of Energy – have submitted their COCs.

President Duterte is set to sign the Paris climate deal by July 2017.