• In less than two months, the 2022 National Elections will take place. Supporters of candidates in national and local positions are getting louder on social media and the ground. However, concrete platforms to address the prevailing climate and environmental crises are yet to be discussed in full swing. Looming questions pop up: Can the next set of leaders address the need to embed climate action and sustainability in our national and local economic development plans?

• The science has never been this clear. The latest reports released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said that the climate crisis was unequivocally caused by human activities and that the costs of climate inaction are becoming unbearable for millions of people.

• The latest reports also warned that even though we limit global warming to 1.5°C—the global warming threshold enshrined in the Paris Agreement—the world we live in will never be the same. There will be more extreme weather events. Weather patterns will change thereby affecting food production. Sea level rise will continue to threaten coastal communities.