From left to right: Jeremy Gustaffson, Director of the Office of the Environment, Energy and Climate Change of USAID in the Philippines; James Donovan, President and CEO of ADEC Innovations and Co-chair of the Environment and Urban Development Committee of AmCham; and Michael Barrera, Vice-Consul of the American Embassy in Manila.

The Environment and Urban Development Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) tackled Climate-Resilient Urban Development in the Philippines in its committee meeting held last November 23, 2015.

Facilitating the discussion on how the Philippines can have more climate- and disaster-resilient urban infrastructure were Mr. James Donovan, CEO of ADEC Innovations and Co-Chair of the Committee, together with Mr. Ebb Hinchcliffe, Executive Director of AmCham Philippines.

The first speaker, US Embassy Manila Vice-Consul Michael Barrera, discussed the existing environment initiative of the Green Team internal and external stakeholders to promote green living in the community. He also talked about the importance of engaging employees and fostering volunteerism towards environmental and social responsibility.

The second speaker, USAID Philippines Director of the Office of the Environment, Energy and Climate Change, Jeremy Gustaffson, discussed USAID’s projects that aim to help achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He then specified USAID’s projects covering the following areas: education (science and technology), healthcare (maternal health), secondary cities (increasing the capacity of cities outside Metro Manila), building smart cities (in partnership with IBM) and innovation (e-payment programs for the unbanked).

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