Let us set the record straight: We love this country like all other patriotic Filipinos.

What we hate are the crooks, the incompetents, and the idiots who somehow got themselves elected to high office and are robbing us blind and running this country to the ground.

On them we will never let our guard down. They will always be in our line of fire.

But anything that exalts this nation, brings honor and pride to Filipinos, upholds our dignity and quality of life, and elevates our status in the international community is stuff that we take great pride in giving an account of.           

Take this seemingly insignificant bit of news: The Philippines is one of the few countries in the world that have successfully implemented clean development mechanism projects in the past several years.

Xuedu Lu, advisor to the Office of the Director General, Regional and Sustainable Development Department of the Asian Development Bank, said the Philippines is also one of the top 10 countries in the world with the highest number of approved CDM projects.

Lu said that based on the ADB’s latest data, the Philippines has a total of 57 CDM projects.

As of October 2001, he said there are a total of 3,556 CDM projects worldwide.

“Most of the projects in the Philippines are quite small projects… many of those are hydropower for farmlands,” Lu was quoted by a major broadsheet as saying on the sidelines of the recently concluded Carbon Forum Asia  2011 in Singapore.

“The implementation is good but just small scale. It doesn’t have to be large scale, what is important is the sustainability of the projects,” he added.

Lu cited the use of compact fluorescent lamps in the country instead of the incandescent bulb as part of the government’s efforts to encourage energy efficiency practices.

He noted that the country has vast natural resources that can be harnessed as renewable sources of energy. Among these, wind, hydro, and biomass are viewed as having the most potential for developing into CDM projects.

“So what’s the big deal?” some may pooh-pooh the report.

The big thing is, this means that although we are a nation struggling to attain modernity and progress, we are doing it not at the expense of the environment. And the international community is thankfully taking notice.

International climate protocols, best corporate practices, and green initiatives compel businesses to invest in countries that are environment-friendly. Thus, the CDM citation makes the country an attractive investment destination. 

More than meeting international commitments, though, this means that we are on our own ensuring a clean and green future for the next generation.   

CFA is jointly organized by trade fair company Koelnmesse and the International Emissions Trading Association.

CDM was established under Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and is designed to provide an incentive for developed countries to transfer greenhouse emission reduction technologies into developing countries.