DOT ramps up effort against climate change
BY DWIGHT SARGA

The Department of Tourism has joined the fray of other government agencies in fighting climate change, noting that the tourism industry would be hit hard by extreme weather events.
DOT, tying up with Greenpeace Southeast Asia (Greenpeace, is initiating an awareness campaign utilizing resorts to undertake energy efficiency, public information dissemination to their communities, local governments and stakeholders as contributions to the fight against climate change.
The campaign, dubbed as "Save the Climate. Save Boracay, would be rolled out to popular tourist destinations in the country after launching the campaign in Boracay.
"Recent developments in Boracay, other parts of the country as well as some parts of the region indicate that urgent measures need to be undertaken in order to avert the obvious negative impacts of uncurtailed carbon emissions," DOT director for tourism standards Ma. Victoria Jasmin said.
Jasmin said this would be the contribution of the DOT to the reduction of carbon emissions from the tourism sector. They would also educate local and foreign tourists on how to help in adapting to climate change through the campaign.
"Climate change is an urgent issue, and that the tourism sector
could be highly affected in the future," she said.
Included in the campaign was providing resorts with options for lessening the carbon footprint of their establishments and how to implement energy efficiency for buildings and structures through green architecture.