By: Beatrice M. Laforga, Business World
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said it is pressing companies and households to adopt a sustainable approach to consumption and production, in part by better accounting for environmental and social costs of their actions.
NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon launched their Philippine Action Plan for Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP), which will act as a guide on the implementation of SCP for all sectors.
SCP minimizes the negative environmental impact of consumption and production while promoting quality of life without compromising resources for future generations, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.
Between 2020 and 2022, she said that NEDA hopes to institutionalize Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) which reckons environmental and the social costs of all economic activities amid similar reforms to methods of estimating will be measured akin to how the gross domestic product (GDP) is being evaluated.
Ms. Edillon said that the country’s total population is expected to rise by an additional 8.3 million by 2022, and grow to 140 million by 2040.
She said that population density likewise grew to 337 people per square kilometer in 2015 from 255 in 2000.
“With such a dense population, you have congestion which is actually manifested in traffic congestion,” she said.
At the same time, the country is currently suffering from declining quality of air mainly due to emissions from transport and industry, especially in highly urbanized cities. Water quality at major bodies of water remains poor while most “are deemed unfit for their intended uses,” she said. Daily solid waste generation rose to 40,000 tons in 2016 or 0.4 kilogram per person per day.
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