New Philippines Senate climate change committee tasked with DRR

At the instigation of Senator Loren Legarda, UNISDR's regional disaster risk reduction champion for the Asia Pacific, the Philippines Senate set up a Committee on Climate Change which will be tasked with "climate and disaster risks management to reduce vulnerability associated with climate-sensitive areas and sectors." The nine-member committee will have an overall focus on "all matters related to policies, programs, strategies, technologies and other innovations addressing global warming and climate change impacts." Senator Loren Legarda, UNISDR's regional disaster risk reduction champion for Asia Pacific, proposed the committee's creation in Resolution No. 772 in November. In the Resolution, Legarda cited findings by the IPCC that global warming will lead to more frequent heat waves and more intense tropical cyclones. Legarda warned in the Resolution that the Philippines is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, sea level rise and extreme weather events due to its archipelagic nature and its location within the Pacific typhoon belt.