Dipolog City wins WWF’s One Planet City Challenge

ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE - Dipolog City is the national winner of the World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) One Planet City Challenge (OPCC) 2021-2022, joining national winners from 20 countries around the world.

Zamboanga del Norte's Dipolog City Mayor Darel Dexter Uy proudly shows the award in a Facebook post on Monday, December 5, 2022.

Bogotá, Colombia and Lund, Sweden were selected as the OPCC Global Winners which saw a total of 280 cities participating from 50 countries.

Dipolog city government representatives led by Mayor Darel Dexter Uy receive the award  OPCC Global Awarding Ceremony in Helsingborg, Sweden in this photo released by the WWF.

Dipolog City government representatives received the prestigious during the OPCC Global Awarding Ceremony in Helsingborg, Sweden.

The city was commended by the international jury of the OPCC Core Team in Sweden for its bold emissions reduction plan, which is aligned with science-based targets needed to keep global warming within 1.5°C. Dipolog has reported innovative and impactful action plans that will help achieve these targets and bring long term co-benefits.

Dipolog City plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and will undertake a 100% emissions reduction compared to its 2018 baseline. As such, the mid-sized city on the northwestern island of Mindanao will convert three-quarters of city street lights to solar to reduce emissions and generate positive savings for the city.

The city will also undertake a large forest restoration project covering an area of 589 hectares in the mountain ranges of Dicayas and Lugdungan, where a variety of flora and fauna, including the endangered Mindanao tarsier, thrive. This project will also increase biodiversity in the area to eventually sequester 4,000 tons of CO2 equivalent annually and counter deforestation in the city’s surrounding zone. 

One Planet CityChallenge is a friendly global competition initiated by WWF to recognize cities for their climate actions and ambitions and assess whether they align with the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement in limiting climate change to 1.5 °C.

Since its inception 10 years ago, close to 600 cities from 53 countries on 5 continents have already participated in this challenge. Dipolog, Quezon, and Davao cities were the national finalists in the Philippines. Other cities that were included in the country’s roster of qualifiers for OPCC 2021-2022 are Baguio, Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, Legazpi, Makati, Ormoc, Pasig, San Carlos,  San Fernando (La Union), Santa Rosa, Tagum, Zamboanga and Vigan.

The cities were measured against rigorous criteria that included: ambitious climate targets, bold leadership, ability to meet upcoming challenges, and a holistic climate action plan that is well balanced towards their goals.

“As highlighted in the recently released IPCC AR6 reports, cities play a key role in avoiding the most severe impacts of global warming,” said Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF International. “Bogotá and Lund are two inspiring examples of how dedicated local governments from very different contexts can drive the transition toward more liveable and sustainable cities. For the world over, both cities are showing others what can be achieved!" (Mindanao Examiner)