Arroyo brings home 'green' bacon from Copenhagen

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo returned to Manila early Saturday after a shortened trip to Copenhagen, bringing home millions of dollars for efforts to cut the country’s carbon emissions and bankroll its clean energy technologies. Although Arroyo came home without an international commitment to curb effects of climate change, she was able to secure $310 million worth of funds for “green" projects, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said in an arrival statement. Of these funds, a bulk – at $250 million – came from the Clean Technology Fund, a program jointly funded by both the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Philippines is the first beneficiary of the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) because of its “leadership role" to tackle climate change in Asia. Remonde said Mrs. Arroyo received a letter on the fund signed by ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda and WB president Robert Zoellick. The fund intends to invest in renewable energy projects, including those involving solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, and others, the ADB said in its Web site. The fund will also increase efficiency and cut emissions of the Philippines’ “existing gas plants," improve public transportation in major metropolitan areas, improve fuel economy standards or switch to cleaner fuels, and assist in the adoption of energy-efficient technologies in buildings, industries, and agriculture. Other “green" funds brought home by President Arroyo include a $50-million fund from the Global Environment Fund and a $10-million fund for local water utilities from Denmark’s investment fund. While the summit was a step in the “right direction," the results were still “not enough," Remonde, who accompanied Mrs. Arroyo in the trip, said on government-run dzRB radio. “The Philippines will continue to do its part through advocacy and support for a global treaty for the reduction of gas emissions," Remonde said. “This is the only way forward if we are to make a real difference." In the same arrival statement, Remonde said that the Philippines remains on the frontlines of a changing global climate, especially in the wake of severe storms that lashed the nation. Such storms are “increasing in intensity, ravaging our land, our people and our way of life," making it a life-and-death issue for the Philippines, he added. During Mrs. Arroyo’s trip to Copenhagen, she took time to advance the Philippines’ interest in areas other than climate change. He said she met with representatives of Danish, Swedish and other companies with investments in the Philippines to discuss positive economic outlook with investment prospects in 2010. “The business leaders expressed confidence our country’s ability to continue weathering the global storm, and acknowledged the stability and improved business environment that we have been able to achieve through our economic reforms over the last 9 years," he said. - GMANews.TV