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Natural Capital Accounting law to help value PH natural resources, ease deals for carbon credits, reforestation

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Warren de Guzman, ABS-CBN News

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) chief Arsenio Balisacan wants the 19th Congress to prioritize legislation to institutionalize Natural Capital Accounting (NCA), which will help the government take stock and value all of its natural resources. At a forum on the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028’s Chapter 15 on climate action and disaster resilience, Balisacan said it is a vital step.&quot;The NCA Roadmap provides strategic guidance for the full institutionalization and integration of NCA in the government’s planning, policy-making, investment programming activities, as well as comprehensive accounting of the country’s wealth. To make sure we are fully aware of the environmental impact of our economic activities, we must measure and properly account for the use of our natural resources. This morning, the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council Executive Committee (LEDAC) endorsed the inclusion of the Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Accounting System or PENCAS in the list of priority legislative measures for the 19th Congress,&quot; he said.A release from the Presidential Communications Office however failed to mention PENCAS among LEDAC&#x27;s ten priority bills adopted for passage by June 2 this year.The release on the 10 priority bills endorsed by LEDAC discussed the proposals as follows: &quot;Among the priority measures to be passed at the end of the First Regular Session are the Amendments to the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law/Public-Private Partnership (PPP) bill, Medical Reserve Corps, Philippine Center for Disease Prevention and Control, creation of the Virology Institute of the Philippines, and Mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) and National Service Training Program (NSTP). The Condonation of Unpaid Amortization and Interests of Loans of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs), Internet Transactions Act/E-Commerce Law, Maharlika bill, Attrition law,/AFP Fixed Term and the Salt Industry Development Bill are also among the top measures slated for passage this June.”Balisacan said the NCA will be critical as the government enters into partnerships to tap into global initiatives, such as the global carbon credit market, designed to help countries and corporations that are carbon neutral or carbon negative get compensation from countries that are carbon positive. In other words, it&#x27;s a market wherein carbon and greenhouse gas emitters can pay carbon storers or zero carbon emission entities to &quot;offset&quot; their contribution to climate change and reward anti-climate change behavior. Businessman Isidro Consunji and Japan’s Marubeni Corporation just inked such a deal during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.&#x27;s working visit to Japan last week. Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga was there for the signing. &quot;This proposal is actually part of a voluntary carbon credit transaction that Dacon-Marubeni would like to do. It covers around 10,000, initially 10,000 hectares in the Negros-Occidental area. What they would like to do is actually forest, and leave the forest standing for at least 30 years. So that actually helps the government in terms of our forestation projects. It actually ensures that we are able to verify that these trees are actually left standing and intact. Because we have the private sector collaboration, eventually they will receive a value and we will receive a value as well in terms of the use of government land,&quot; she said.Loyzaga however said they cannot yet say how much this project is worth. “Quite fluid, as you know the price of carbon now is between $40 and $80 dollars more or less. It goes up and down in terms of the market. So that is part of the way we are going to structure the actual transaction. All of that is still on the drawing board in terms of the valuation side,&quot; she added.Balisacan said this is precisely the situation which calls for natural capital accounting. “Ito yung purpose ng exercise na ginagawa natin. We really need more data, we need to invest in good data, para ma-estimate natin ang contribution natin sa reforestation, conservation ng mga waters natin, river systems natin. Kasi hindi pa natin nakikita kung gaano ka lala yung impact halimbawa ng pollution tsaka population pressures. Halimbawa sa Laguna de Bay, o Manila Bay. Yun ang gusto natin makita para malaman natin kung ano. Yung sinasabi natin mataas ang GDP growth, pero kung sinisira natin ang natural wealth natin, eventually that growth will not be sustainable,&quot; he said.Balisacan believes the global carbon credit market will be helpful as the Philippines seeks just compensation for its efforts to lock away carbon or reduce carbon emissions from richer countries which have proven to be responsible for climate change. He added that taking advantage of this market is also a must since the Philippines is so vulnerable to extreme weather events created by climate change.However, Balisacan said it will be up to Marcos Jr. to decide on what should be prioritized by Congress. “There are 10 that are indicated there, but that is only for the current session. But that priority list is supposed to cover the first, the 19th congress, which is still until 2025. Just to make sure we get all the bills passed, especially those that are critical to the success of our Philippine Development Plan and our 8 point agenda,&quot; he said.Apart from natural capital accounting, NEDA is also aggressively pushing the Philippine Action Plan for Sustainable Consumption and Production (PCP4SCP). This plan aims to encourage consumers, businesses, producers, and government to evaluate how to use resources, and to adopt a more circular approach which reduces use and promotes the reuse of &quot;waste&quot; to create new materials and products.

NEDA chief Arsenio Balisacan wants Congress to prioritize legislation to institutionalize Natural Capital Accounting (NCA), which will help the government take stock and value all of its natural resources. 

Natural Capital Accounting law to help value PH natural resources, ease deals for carbon credits, reforestation

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Natural Capital Accounting law to help value PH natural resources, ease deals for carbon credits, reforestation

Warren de Guzman,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 13, 2023 09:23 PM PHT

Read More:

Climate Change

Disaster Resilience

Dacon

Marubeni

Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council

Philippine Ecosystem

Natural Accounting System

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