[PODCAST] Duterte, despite bluster, makes big climate pledge

In 2016, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte derided the historic Paris climate change agreement as “kalokohan (nonsense).”

Fast-forward to April 2021, his administration has submitted a climate commitment to that Paris deal that is even bigger than the commitment proposed by Aquino administration.

Many things led to that reversal – from his own Cabinet urging him to support the Paris agreement, to him assigning Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III to lead the Climate Change Commission for him, to very active civil society groups keeping a close eye on government.

Rappler reporter Pia Ranada speaks to environmental scientist Rex Barrer of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities about the Philippines’ submitted Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and the political leadership behind it.

Listen to other Seat of Power episodes:

• Episode 1: COVID-19 ward doctor assesses Duterte’s pandemic response
• Episode 2: Duterte’s hands all over ABS-CBN franchise rejection
• Episode 3: The frightening future of Duterte’s anti-terror law
• Episode 4: Duterte’s 2020 SONA in 5 minutes
• Episode 5: What happens if Duterte gets COVID-19?
• Episode 6: Duterte, Trump, Bolsonaro: The ‘medical populists’
• Episode 7: Pandemic leadership: Duterte vs Leni
• Episode 8: Duterte’s secretive Malacañang
• Episode 9: Duterte’s vaccine dreams vs reality
• Episode 10: Duterte’s role in the Cayetano-Velasco Speakership tussle
• Episode 11: 4 reasons why Duterte’s ratings are still high
• Episode 12: ‘Corruption crackdown’ by a master of spectacle
• Episode 13: Covering a President who lies
• Episode 14: Tarlac shooting: Blood on Duterte’s hands
• Episode 15: Unpacking the PSG vaccine mystery
• Episode 16: China’s new Coast Guard law and Duterte
• Episode 17: Duterte’s VFA threats: Negotiating tactic or rash outburst?
• Episode 18: Is Duterte responsible for ‘Bloody Sunday’?
• Episode 19: What is Duterte’s actual role in pandemic response?

– Rappler.com