Submission in Support of Petitioners Case No. CHR-NI-2016-0001 temperatures exceeded the 20th century average by 1.33°C in 20156 and by 1.58°C from January through September of 2016.7 According to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global average surface temperatures are likely to increase 1.5°C to 2.3°C above the 1850–1900 period by 2050, and temperatures could increase by more than 4°C by 2081–2100 if governments and business do not undertake concerted efforts to mitigate GHG emissions.8 The IPCC also predicts that there will be substantial warming in temperature extremes by the end of the 21st century, meaning that the number of unusually hot days and heat waves will increase around the globe.9 The Philippines Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) published a 2011 report documenting warming trends and projections in the Philippines. PAGASA found that, between 1951 and 2010, the Philippines experienced a 0.648°C increase in average temperature and a 1.0°C increase in maximum temperature.10 The Philippines also saw a significant increase in the number of hot days and a decrease in the number of cool nights from 1951 through 2010.11 PAGASA predicts that annual mean temperatures in the Philippines are expected to rise by 0.9 – 1.1°C in 2020 and by 1.8 to 2.2°C in 2050, relative to a 1971-2000 baseline.12 Since that report was published, the effects of rising temperatures in the Philippines have become even more apparent: earlier this year, the Philippines experienced a heat wave during which the heat index reached a dangerous 51°C (surpassing the previous record of 49.4°C, which was also set earlier this year).13 6 NOAA Global Analysis for Annual 2015 (2016), supra note 4. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, State of the Climate: Global Analysis for September 2016 (Oct. 2016), https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201609. 8 IPCC, CLIMATE CHANGE 2014: IMPACTS, ADAPTATION, AND VULNERABILITY, CONTRIBUTION OF THE WORKING GROUP II TO THE FIFTH ASSESSMENT REPORT OF THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE (Christopher Field et al. eds., Cambridge University Press 2014) at 187 (hereinafter “IPCC WGII”). 9 Id. 10 PHILIPPINES ATMOSPHERIC, GEOPHYSICAL AND ASTRONOMICAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (PAGASA), CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE PHILIPPINES (2011) at 16. 11 Id. at 20. 12 Id. at 25. 13 Dona Z. Passbugan, Heat Index Soars to Record 51°C, PHILIPPINES DAILY INQUIRER, April 13, 2016, http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/779281/heat-index-soars-to-record-51c. 7 Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School 5