MANILA - The private sector-led Net Zero Carbon Alliance (NZCA) organized the inaugural ‘Net Zero Conference’ at Rockwell in Makati on Thursday to encourage more firms to intensify their efforts to fight climate change.

Dozens of business heads, policy leaders, and financial institutions discussed strategies for the private sector to push for sustainable net zero transformation.

The United Nations described net zero as “the cutting of carbon emissions to a small amount of residual emissions that can be absorbed and durably stored by nature and other carbon dioxide removal measures.”

One of the lead groups of the alliance is the Energy Development Corporation (EDC), the renewable energy arm of the First Philippine Holdings Corporation. 

Its Chairman Federico Lopez said there is an urgent need to combat climate change as the world is already feeling the disastrous effects of greenhouse emissions.

“We have a narrowing timeframe of the next 25 years to make our every action count and avoid irreversible damage to our planet. There is no other way to go, but net zero,” Lopez said.

NZCA Executive Director Allan Barcena, who also works for EDC, said it would be best if the Philippines made net zero commitments, similar to what is being done in other countries. But for now, he said, it’s the private sector who will step up first and ignite the change.

“Most of our Asian neighbors do have country commitment. In the Philippines, we don’t have. Wala tayong declaration about achieving net zero by 2050, but we have an NDC, which is to cut our emissions by 75 percent,” Barcena said.

He urges companies to join NZCA to make the net zero initiative more large-scale. Currently, there are 32 partner members, with many new members signed up at the conference. Among the partner-members are Arthaland, Cemex, Converge ICT Solutions, EDC, First Balfour, Mondelez International, Monde Nissin, SGV, and Unilever among many others. New members include Coca-Cola Philippines.

“We encourage everyone. We share technologies. We share best practices so that some of our partners would make good with their commitment to become net zero by 2050 or before,” said Barcena.

NZCA Lead Convenor Frances Ariola added that members share and track each other’s progress so collectively they can reduce greenhouse emissions and eventually achieve net zero.

“We all have the responsibility to live up to our commitment to go net zero. And that’s why we want them to show their progress on the net zero gateway and we report on it collectively,” Ariola said.

The group admitted that it would initially be difficult for companies to push towards net zero as it entails costs and manpower, which is why they said it is important to join the alliance where they help one another. And this initiative will have an impact not just on the companies, but on the future of the people and of the planet.

First Philippine Holdings and ABS-CBN are both part of the Lopez group of companies. 

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