Memorandum for the Petitioners [ 73
OF FILIPINOS IN THE CONTEXT
OF CLIMATE CHANGE.
VIII
ARGUMENTS AND DISCUSSION
A
IS
CHANGE
CLIMATE
IMPACTING THE PHILIPPINES
SUFFER
FILIPINOS
AND
DISPROPORTIONATELY FROM
THESE IMPACTS.
r
r
8.1. The Philippines is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate
change: indeed , in the World Index Report 2016,302 the Philippines ranked
number three in terms of exposure and vulnerability. This was attributed to
the number of tropical cyclones and also the number of disasters that are being
experienced in the country, 303 In the most recent Global Peace Index ,
published by the Australian think-tank Institute for Economics and Peace
(IEP), the Philippines climbed the ladder and ranked Number 1 in terms of
exposure to climate hazards.304
8.2. As testified to by expert witness Ms. Rosalina De Guzman,
Assistant Weather Services Chief of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical
and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA ), since the 1950s, the
Philippine climate, like the rest of the world, is warming. From 1951-2010,
the annual mean temperature has increased by 0.65°C.305 Daily temperature
extremes show more hot days and fewer cold nights.306
United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security, World Risk Report 2016,
available at https://collections.unu .edU/eserv/UNU:5763/WorldRiskReport2016_small meta.pdf (last
accessed on 06 September 2019); Also see: Testimony of Ms. Rosalina De Guzman, TSN 27-28 March
2018, available at http://chr.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/NICC-TSN-March-27-to-28-2018-MetroManila- Philippines.pdf (last accessed on 12 September 2019).
303
De Guzman, R., TSN 27-28 March 2018, p. 92, supra note 302.
304
Institute for Economic and Peace, Global Peace Index 2019, Figure 2.35, p. 48, available at
https://reliefweb. int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/GPI-2019-web003 . pdf ( last accessed on 12
September 2019).
305
See Exhibit “W” to “ W- 14,” Cinco, TA., et al. (2014), Long-term trends and extremes in observed daily
precipitation and near surface air temperatures in the Philippines for the period 1951-2010, Atmospheric
Research Vol . 145- 146, Fig 2, p. I 7, also available at
https://www.sciencedirect.com /science/article/ pii /S 0169809514001495 (last accessed on 12 September
2019).
306
This observation was based on the trends in the frequency of days with minimum temperature below the
th
1st percentile (cold nights) and the trends in frequency of days with maximum temperature above the 99
percentile ( hot days); See: Exhibit “ V” to “V-2,” Statement of Ms. Rosalina de Guzman, dated 16 March
2018, p. 1 .
302
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