ADB launches ‘toolkit’ for design of environment-friendly roads

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Tuesday that it launched a toolkit that would aid governments and transport industries in building low-carbon and inclusive road infrastructure.

The ADB, along with the International Road Federation and MetaMeta Research, launched the Green Roads Toolkit, to guide the planning, design, construction and maintenance of roads while ensuring environmentally sustainable practices.

“We need to do road investments and other transport infrastructure better to develop them sustainably and ensure accessibility for all,” James Leather, director of the bank’s transport sector office, said during the Asia and the Pacific Transport Forum.

The framework seeks to address the region’s need for eight million kilometers of roads by 2030, as estimated in the Asian Transport Outlook.

It also aims to ensure beneficial land and water use, reduce pollution, push for restorative and regenerative ecosystems, and ensure the public safe and affordable mobility in the region.

“This toolkit will provide engineers, planners, decision makers, and practitioners with the guidance to balance the economic, social and environmental objectives to make roads in Asia and the Pacific greener,” Mr. Leather said.

The guide details 150 best practices in road design and planning, tackling decarbonization, sustainable materials and construction, fostering inclusive growth, climate resilience, reducing pollution, preserving biodiversity, water and land management, disaster preparedness, and improving quality of life.

“It will guide project teams in recommending interventions that support the alignment of road investments with the Paris Agreement on climate change and other sustainability agendas,” said Rebecca Stapleton, ADB’s senior analyst for the transport sector group and co-lead on the ADB Green Roads Initiative.

Around 400 million people in the Asia-Pacific region live more than two kilometers away from an all-season road, Mr. Leather said.

Roads account for 18% of the world’s energy-related carbon dioxide emissions.

The toolkit will be regularly updated to include additional best practices to develop and manage “green roads.”

Over 1.7 billion across Asia do not have access to reliable transport, Managing Director General Woochong Um told the forum.

“Our focus now is not only on moving cars and other forms of vehicles. It is also not only on moving goods and people. We focus now also on shaping sustainable futures for our developing member countries,” Mr. Um said.

The ADB is also supporting the transition to electric vehicles, Mr. Um said.

“Transitioning to electric vehicles represents a significant step forward, yet this alone is insufficient to tackle broader issues, such as accessibility, congestion, or safety. Our approach must be holistic, incorporating a range of innovative solutions to ensure that our transport systems are not only environmentally sustainable, but also universally accessible and safe,” he said.

Source: Business World and ADB

DENR: Philippines loses $890 million annually to recyclable plastic dumping

The country loses $890 million a year because of indiscriminate dumping of recyclable plastic instead of repurposing it, Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said yesterday.

In her speech during the celebration of Earth Day, Loyzaga said the country produces around 2.7 million tons of plastic waste each year, with most of it ending in landfills, dumpsites, rivers and water supply systems.

“However, about 20 percent of this ends up in our oceans. Over and above our organic waste, plastic for our market needs, food wrapping and packaging for our consumers all make up the 61,000 metric tons of solid waste we produce daily,” Loyzaga said.

This year’s Earth Day is an urgent call to face a deadly challenge against plastic, she added.

Loyzaga pointed out that many are unaware plastics have traditionally been made from oil, natural gas, or coal – the very fossil fuel sources that have driven climate change.

“On a daily basis, we consume plastics in the fish caught in the seas, through the substandard water bottles we use and in the very air we breathe. Microplastics have been found in raindrops and are being studied for their impact on clouds and climate change,” she added.

To address the issue, she said the government passed the Extended Producer Responsibility Act of 2022 or the EPR Law, which shifted the burden of collecting used plastic from local governments to the producers and manufacturers.

“Over 800 large-scale companies have registered and committed to reducing plastic use through the substitution and development of sustainable packaging solutions and collection, treatment and recycling initiatives. They have also committed to education and raising awareness of the environmental impact of plastic pollution,” Loyzaga noted.

She stressed that the government and the corporations cannot do it alone, adding that transformation toward a plastics-free world begins at home.

“Together, we can win this battle of planet vs. plastics. Every step we take counts, and we will need to work as one. It is our choice to act today or let our plastic waste determine our tomorrow. Earth Day must be every day. We will fight to win the war of Planet vs. Plastics. We must embrace the environment for life,” she added.

Meanwhile, the environmental group Center for Energy, Ecology and Development (CEED) yesterday asked President Marcos to declare a national climate emergency amid the impact of El Niño in the country.

At a press conference, CEED executive director Gerry Arances said the damage El Niño brought to the agriculture sector has reached almost P4 billion, and it could still get worse in the next days.

“Today, together with other organizations, we urge President Marcos to declare a national climate emergency as the effect of the El Niño that we are currently experiencing is expected to exacerbate,” Arances said, adding that the government’s preparations to minimize the impact of the phenomenon were inadequate.

“We are experiencing a different kind of El Niño as in the past weeks the heat index already reached almost 50 degrees Celsius. Its damage to agriculture already reached billions, as well as in the fish catch. We expect more problems in the next weeks and months,” he added.

Arances said Marcos should acknowledge that the current El Niño is different from the previous drought. “Extraordinary measures are needed. Government officials are still treating climate change as business as usual. For us, we are warning that we should expect it to exacerbate.”

He said the declaration of a national climate emergency is necessary for national survival.

Batang Bantay Kalikasan

The city government of Pasig launched yesterday the Batang Bantay Kalikasan or BBK project, which aims to empower the youth in the campaign for the protection of the environment, and did a tree-planting activity in observance of this year’s Earth Day.

The BBK officers, led by Samantha Nicole Salingay of De Castro Elementary School, from 21 public schools in Pasig took their oath during the flag-raising ceremony of the employees and officials of the city.

The city government handed over the BBK badge to its officers to symbolize the recognition of the city government to the group.

It also encouraged all private companies in the city to join the search for the “Most Sustainable Landscape” as part of the push to create green spaces in support of the Green Building Ordinance of Pasig.

After the flag-raising ceremony, Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto and other city officials led the ribbon-cutting for the Earth Day fair at the city hall lobby where 10 exhibitors participated in showcasing their environment-friendly products.

Sotto, along with Vice Mayor Robert Jaworski Jr., city councilors, representatives from the Mint College of Ortigas, AsiaLink and Department of Education -Schools Division office of Pasig led the tree-planting and growing activity at the Pasig Central Elementary School. ­

Source: Philstar

Spending on environmental protection drops 8.1% in 2023

Spending on environmental protection declined 8.1% in 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday.

The PSA’s Compendium of Philippine Environment Statistics (CPES) Component 6 indicated that annual government environmental protection expenditures fell to P21.89 billion in 2023 from P23.83 billion a year earlier.

Adopted from the Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics 2013, the CPES is a compilation of statistical data gathered from various government agencies.

Spending for the protection of biodiversity and landscape declined by 8.6% last year to P8.72 billion. This accounted for 39.8% of the total expenditure for environmental protection.

This was followed by spending on environmental protection not elsewhere classified with P6.54 billion in 2023, accounting for 29.9% of total expenditure.

Waste management spending amounted to P3.04 billion last year, or 13.9% of the total expenditure. The allocation for this subsector was down 17%.

Pollution abatement outlays amounted to P2.75 billion, while spending on research and development was P840 million. These accounted for 12.6% and 3.9% of the total environmental expenditure.

No information was available for the wastewater management sector in the Budget of Expenditures and Sources Financing, the PSA noted.

Source: Business World and Philippine Statistics Authority