Worldwide Fund for Nature honors Baguio City, 12 others as One Planet City Challenge qualifiers

The Worldwide Fund (WWF) for Nature recognized the local government of Baguio and 12 other cities in the country for their commitments and efforts toward sustainability and low-carbon footprint development.

Baguio City along with Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, Legazpi, Makati, Ormoc, Pasig, San Carlos, San Fernando (La Union), Santa Rosa, Tagum, Zamboanga, and Vigan were honored at the One Planet City Challenge (OPCC) 2022 Local Awarding Ceremony hosted by the Worldwide Fund Philippines at Marco Polo Ortigas Manila held December 6, 2022.

One Planet Cities share a commitment to work toward the Paris Agreement goal – to keep our global temperatures below a 1.5 C rise with clear climate mitigation plans and adapting the most innovative solutions to individual city circumstances, according to the WWF website.

Innovations for cleaner, greener cities include long-term solutions to traffic which is considered by the WWF as the biggest contributor to outdoor air pollution. The WWF suggests reducing traffic emissions through shift from car dependency to active transportation as well as building bike paths and pedestrian safety improvements, creating dedicated public transport lanes including switch to battery-powered electric buses.

The WWF believes that as urban populations grow, land becomes ever more precious thus the need to design streets for people rather than vehicles as one of the ways cities can reduce sprawl, emissions, traffic, and pollution, leaving the way open for improved health, more access and interaction with nature, and clearer, cleaner air.

The WWF aims to recognize cities that are leading the transition towards a climate-resilient, one planet future. Launched in 2011 as the Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC), OPCC is a biennial, global challenge for cities to present ambitious, holistic, inspiring and credible plans for low carbon development, including a dramatic increase in the use of sustainable and efficient renewable energy solutions, as well as sustainable urban transport systems today and beyond.

Since its inception, WWF has partnered with ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, particularly through the Carbon Climate Registry (cCR) which is a global reporting platform for local and subnational climate action where participating cities can report relevant data, plans and actions. – JMPS with reports from Micaela Rimando/CPDO