Antonio La Viña continues the “Just Environments” series with an analysis of climate justice challenges and opportunities, particularly from the perspective of vulnerable countries, in light of the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. The framing of issues of mitigation and adaptation to climate change in terms of justice—assistance, liability, and accountability—is now part of the global debate. Though the absence of the United States from global climate processes is less than ideal, La Viña suggests that this opening can provide opportunities to address climate justice and for other countries to emerge as global leaders.
Antonio G. M. La Viña
Antonio G.M. La Viña is currently executive director of the Manila Observatory, the leading climate change, disaster risk, and sustainable development science organization of the Philippines. He comes to the Observatory after stints as dean of the Ateneo School of Government, senior fellow and Biological Resources Program director at the World Resources Institute, and environment undersecretary of the Philippines. He was the Philippines’s legal advisor at the first Conference of the Parties (COP) in Berlin, Germany, in 1995; its chief negotiator at the Kyoto Protocol negotiations in 1997; and a lead climate change negotiator for the country since the 2009 Copenhagen COP and up to Paris and Marrakech in 2015 and 2016, respectively. La Viña is also known for his facilitation roles at the UNFCCC on forest and land use issues and his advocacy for human rights in the climate negotiations. His views are personal and do not reflect official Philippines positions. His writings can be accessed here.