MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines has announced the 15 qualified cities for the One Planet City Challenge (OPCC) 2023-2024, the flagship activity of the One Planet Cities (OPC) Program.
Since the official launch of OPCC 2023-2024 last March 30, several cities have already expressed their interest in joining the project. The cities of Baguio, Davao, Dipolog, Legazpi, Makati, Muntinlupa, Ormoc, San Carlos (Negros Occidental), San Fernando (La Union), Santa Rosa, Tagum, and Zamboanga are returning for OPCC 2023-2024. Furthermore, Catbalogan City and Naga City (Camarines Sur) have rejoined the program since their last participation in 2017-2018. The new city to complete the roster of this cycle is Puerto Princesa.
The OPCC aims to help cities develop the most effective climate mitigation and adaptation practices and to disseminate these practices globally. Participating cities will be uploading their local emissions, targets, plans, and climate actions. The submitted data is evaluated using the OPCC’s Assessment Framework and its scoring criteria that will focus on: assessed GHG emissions and risks from climate change, mitigation targets and adaptation goals, climate action plans, implementation of strategies and/or actions, and results-based monitoring.
As part of the challenge process, WWF reviews cities’ plans against good practice climate action planning criteria and assesses whether their targets align with the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to a maximum of 1.5 °C. The best-performing cities will then be put forward to an international jury of experts that chooses the national and global winners.
A customized strategic feedback report will also be provided to each participating city that will showcase the city’s climate journey and high-level action-based advice based on the latest IPCC report. This report contains an assessment of whether their city’s climate targets are aligned with their fair share of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, whether mitigation actions align with main emissions sectors, and whether adaptation actions map effectively to climate risks.
WWF-Philippines, along with its technical partner ICLEI Southeast Asia, will be guiding the participating Philippines cities on their reporting to the CDP-ICLEI Track. A series of capacity-building workshops and consultations will be conducted to support further the cities’ climate action and mitigation plans and their alignment towards the 1.5°C target.
“We truly appreciate the continued commitment of these city governments in leading the charge in addressing climate change and low-carbon development. Through their engagement in this initiative, we also aim to guide them in strengthening their local policies and action plans through data transparency, collaborative partnerships, and community engagement,” said WWF-Philippines One Planet Cities Project Manager Imee Bellen.
For the next two years, WWF-Philippines will work closely with the participating cities to assist them in acting as transformation catalysts, implementing integrated and inclusive plans in line with 1.5°C, while ensuring urban resilience, and unlocking individual and collective climate actions. Other local activities are also planned that will involve urban stakeholders such as youth, educators, private organizations, and city representatives.
