Topic: Climate Change and Destruction at Natural Resources

Country: Philippines

Resolution: Be it resolved that each member states comply with the Carbon Tax Policy

According to Senate Economic Planning Office (2013), Greenhouse gases (GHGs)

contribute to the warming of the earth’s surface that causes the changing of the global
temperature which results to climate change. The data from 2013 showed an increase in global
energy-related CO2 emissions. There are lots of observed increase in greenhouse gas emissions
from human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and land use change. This has increasingly
posed quite considerable challenges to man and the environment.

In relation to the happening of climate change, the Philippine is considered as a net

emitter of GHGs, ranked 6th in the region with a share of only 0.31% of the world total. From
1990 to 2010, the Philippines’ GHG emissions were still below the global standard of 200
MtCO2 level growing annually by 3.25% on the average for the past 20 years. An article was
released by the Climate Reality Project stating that the Global Climate Risk Index 2015 listed the
Philippines as the number one most affected country by climate change based on 2013’s data,
when the deadliest storm on record, Typhoon Yolanda, happened in the country wherein 6,300
lives were lost, over four million citizens were displaced, and an estimated $2 billion cost of
damage occurred.

In 2009, the RA 9279, also known as the Climate Change Act, was signed to create the
Climate Change Commission and the RA 10174 was signed to amend the Climate Change Act.
This law establishes, among others, a survival fund to provide long-term finance streams for
effectively addressing climate change. Presently, we need to consider a more pro-active
adaptation act in order to ensure sustainable development answering to the climate change. So in
accordance with these laws, Carbon Tax Bill ensures the perpetuity of having enough funds to
sustain the environment against climate change. It’s the right time for the Philippine government
to impose taxes on carbon emissions, which would help fight global warming and raise badly
needed revenue for Philippines belongs to the biggest contributors of carbon emissions in South
East Asia. Besides discouraging pollution, taxing greenhouse gas emissions would have the
added bonus of helping the government boost their revenues especially wherein most of the
biggest economic contributors in the country rely on the use of energy that produces large
amount of carbon emissions. This will raise the prices of fossil fuel prices, which will have less
impact on the households through revenue distribution and/or reducing other taxes that
discourage hiring and investing. With this, carbon tax, of course, will have direct effect on the
country’s economy. Since most products and services are using fossil fuels as energy source,
most Filipinos will be affected by this tax, which is one of the challenges of this policy. Almost
all of the products that Filipino consumes on a daily basis use fossil fuels as energy source for
production. Once this tax is implemented, companies producing this products will be forced to
levy higher taxes on their products for they will be the first which will be affected by the
additional tax. However, this can be answered by what you call ‘tax swap’. Tax swap is a
concept wherein the revenues gained through carbon tax will be used to substitute or decrease
other taxes that Filipinos are paying, which are not related to any carbon dioxide emitting
processes. After all, the main point of this policy is to reduce the consumption of Filipinos of
fossil fuels, which can be achieved through carbon tax. With tax swap simultaneously
implemented with carbon tax, then the direct impact that an average Filipino consumer will
encounter in more expensive products from fossil fuels may be balanced off by having other
products of equal importance at a cheaper price. Moreover, this will also encourage the use of
alternative source of energy for more sustainable and environment friendly purposes. Alternative
energy resources are already available for large companies to use. What’s stopping them to use
this more environment-friendly energy sources is that they still have the option to use fossil fuel
which is cheaper than these alternative energy sources. With Carbon Tax levied on them, then
the cost of using fossil fuels and alternative sources of energy will be closer, giving them a less
painful option of switching into using alternative sources of energy.

Considering all the factors discussed, it is time for the Philippines to take an extra mile in
reducing its GHG emissions by implementing Carbon Tax, just like with other developed and
developing countries worldwide. It is just right to put Carbon Tax as a central part of the
strategies implemented in reducing carbon pollution. A number of countries have been
successful in taxing their carbon usage and so it is time for the government to team up with the
scientific community and with the rest of the country to acknowledge the threat that climate
change is imposing and take a bold action as it is stated in the Constitution that it is the States
policy to ensure the existence of harmonious and habitable ecology for the future generation.