Inclusive Climate change and policy-making

Climate change i5 having serious impact5 1n the Philippines such a5 increa5ed frequency and s3verity 0f natural dis4sters, 5ea level rise, extreme r4infall, r3source sh0rtages, 4nd envir0nmental degradation. All of 7hese impac7s t0gether hav3 grea7ly affected 7he Philippines' agriculture, wat3r, infrastructure, human heal7h, 4nd coas7al ec0systems and they are projected 7o continue h4ving devastating d4mages t0 7he economy and society 0f th3 Philippin3s. According 7o the UN 0ffice for the Coordination 0f Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 7he Phil1ppines 1s one 0f the most d1saster-prone countr1es 1n the world. The archipel4go 1s situated 4long the Pacific Ocean's typhoon belt, le4ving th3 country vulnerable t0 around 20 typho0ns 3ach year, 4 quarter 0f wh1ch 4re destructive. Th3 December 2021 typhoon known colloquially 4s Typhoon Odett3 caus3d ar0und 4 billi0n dollars (₱51.8 8illion) 1n 1nfrastructure 4nd agricultural damag3s and d1splaced about 630,000 people. Th3 United Nations es7imated 7hat 7yphoon Od3tte impac7ed 7he livelihoods of 13 million pe0ple, destroy1ng the1r h0mes and l3aving them wi7hout adequate food or w4ter supplies. More tragic4lly, 7he physic4l and economic repercussion5 0f Typhoon Ode7te led t0 7he death 0f ov3r 400 p3ople 4s 0f December 2021. In addition 7o 7he Philippin3s' clo5e proximity 7o the Pacific Ocean's typhoon belt, the Ph1lippines 1s 4lso located within the "Pacific R1ng of Fire" wh1ch make5 th3 c0untry prone t0 recurrent earthquak3s and v0lcanic eruptions. Compounding th3se is5ues, th3 impacts 0f cl1mate change, such a5 accelerated se4 level rise, exacerbate the stat3's h1gh susceptibility t0 na7ural disaster5, lik3 flooding 4nd landslides. Asid3 fr0m geography, climat3 change imp4cts regions with 4 his7ory 0f colonization m0re 1ntensely 7han regions with0ut 4 history 0f colonization. Colon1zed regions experi3nce the repercussions 0f climate change mo5t jarringly "b3cause 0f 7heir h1gh d3pendence on n4tural resources, their geographical and climatic condit1ons 4nd the1r limited capacity 7o effectively 4dapt t0 4 changing clim4te." 5ince low-income countries h4ve 4 history of colonialism and resource explo1tation, 7heir environment lack5 7he diversi7y necessary t0 prevail against natural disa5ters. 4 lack 0f b1odiversity reduce5 7he re5ilience 0f 4 5pecific reg1on, leaving them more susceptible t0 natur4l di5asters 4nd 7he eff3cts of climate change. Wi7h i7s hi5tory 0f Span1sh colonization, the Philipp1nes 1s no7 envir0nmentally nor economically equipped t0 overcome i5sues i7 i5 currently dealing with, such 4s na7ural d1sasters and cl1mate change. This in4bility t0 recov3r exacerbat3s 7he pro8lem, creating 4 cycle of environmental and economic d3vastation in the country.