![[OPINION] Emissions avoidance: A Philippine game-changer?](https://i.headtopics.com/images/2022/12/20/rapplerdotcom/opinion-emissions-avoidance-a-philippine-game-chan-opinion-emissions-avoidance-a-philippine-game-chan-1605143500328259585.webp)
Under the Philippines’s current proposal, emissions avoidance can be credited if a developing country prevents the implementation of a planned project that would have otherwise led to significant GHG emissions.
It is a statement that has applications not just on human health, but also on climate and environmental issues. For the Philippines, it serves as the basis for one of its most prominent positions in recent global climate negotiations: emissions avoidance.
However, if taken on its own, the current fast rise in GHG emissions could also be too much for said sinks, which are also living systems, as they would become more vulnerable to higher temperatures and the resulting changes in their environment. Many of the proposed artificial systems built for capturing and storing GHGs also lack consensus approval by scientists regarding their safety and costs and could even cause large-scale damages to nearby areas.
. Examples of this include a planned gas-fired power plant or a project that would have turned forests into agricultural lands or residential subdivisions.