THE WORLD is heating faster than governments can act, placing climate-vulnerable countries like the Philippines on the front line of ecosystem collapse by 2050.
For Graduate School Dean Emeritus Lilian Sison, climate change is no longer a distant forecast but a worsening crisis shaped by rising carbon emissions, weakening global cooperation, and poor governance.
“There are some advanced countries that are able to reduce their emissions because they have transitioned to clean technologies, but the developing and poorer countries are still developing, urbanizing, and using fossil fuels,” Sison told the Varsitarian.
Sison warned that global policies could put the world on a path toward higher warming by 2050.
“Current global policies are setting the world toward a three-degree trajectory, with warming reaching 2.4 to 2.8 by 2050,” she said. “These are not simply projections. They are already based on what is happening and the gap between targets and implementations.”
Chemistry of warming
Sison, a long-time chemistry professor, said climate change must also be understood through chemistry, particularly the processes that produce greenhouse gases.
“The environment has a lot of chemistry,” she said. “Decomposition in the absence of air produces methane, while in the presence of air, it produces carbon dioxide, mostly responsible for global warming.”
Methane and carbon dioxide trap heat in the atmosphere, driving the greenhouse effect. Sison said trees absorb carbon dioxide through photosynthesis, making forests and urban greening important in climate action.
The Philippines, she said, remains highly vulnerable because of its exposure to floods, super typhoons, drought, heat waves, rising seas, and damage to coral reefs.
Sison said the country’s location within the Coral Triangle made climate risks more urgent, as warming seas threaten coral reefs, mangroves, and marine ecosystems that support coastal communities.
She cited Super Typhoon “Yolanda,” internationally known as “Haiyan,” as one of the clearest examples of the country’s exposure to extreme weather. The 2013 typhoon left some 6,300 people dead.
High heat indices have also forced class suspensions and raised health concerns.
Even if the Philippines reduces its own emissions, Sison said it would remain exposed to emissions from other countries.
“Impacts fall disproportionately on marginalized, poor, and developing populations, worsening existing inequalities,” she said.
Governance and adaptation
Sison said climate adaptation in the Philippines requires good governance, pointing to flood control projects marred by corruption.
The flood control projects could have helped vulnerable communities if properly implemented, she said.
“It is not only the government, but even our citizens, even youth, should be able to do something about climate change because it’s our future,” she said.
She urged Thomasian scientists and students to focus their community service projects on practical climate adaptation, including urban greening, mangrove restoration, tree planting, and food security initiatives.
Beyond science, policy, and economics, Sison framed climate change as a moral and generational responsibility.
“Climate change is no longer a distant or abstract concern,” she added. “It is a lived reality.” Marigela Isabel R. Cirio with reports from Elihoenai Hazael B. Cortez
