John Leo Algo has been appointed national coordinator of Aksyon Kilma Pilipinas, with a mandate to engage in policy development and project monitoring on climate issues in the Philippines.
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Aksyon Klima Pilipinas was established in 2007 as a national network of 40 civil society networks and organisations like Greenpeace Philippines, WWF Philippines, and the Manila Observatory, which advocate different climate change issues.
Algo, who has been a member of the organisation since 2020 as part of the secretariat commitee, has provided technical expertise and administrative support on projects promoting climate action in the Philippines.
He takes over from Melvin Purzuelo, who served as the organisation’s national coordinator for the past five years.
Algo said he is proud of Aksyon Klima’s recent accomplishments including crafting the country’s target to reduce harmful greenhouse gases in 2021 and advising the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines on releasing its pastoral letter on climate emergency last year.
The Catholic church, which claims over 86 per cent of the Philippines’ near 110 million population as followers – the biggest in Asia – has a prominent role in the country, with its ability to influence public debate on issues ranging from politics to the environment.
John Leo Algo (center) joins climate and human rights advocates from various organisations on a 30-day solidarity walk from Manila to Tacloban, Leyte, on 8 October, in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of Typhoon Haiyan. Image: Geenpeace
“We achieved this despite the challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the sociopolitical circumstances in the Philippines,” said Algo.
“My job is to now build on these gains, expand the network’s activities and reach, and maintain, if not strengthen, our position within the climate action landscape at the national, regional, and global level.”
Algo is currently deputy executive director for programmes and campaigns for Living Laudato Si, an environmental advocacy group affiliated with the Catholic Church, where he leads campaigns for the just transition and fossil fuel divestment.
He is also a member of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) youth advisory group on environmental and climate justice, where he contributes perspectives and recommendations from young voices of the Asia-Pacific, in order to accelerate and implement the climate action agenda.
When he was 22 years old, he became the youngest author of the Philippine Climate Change Commission-led climate change assessment report, which synthesised scientific information from international and local literature in order to provide an assessment of climate impacts in the country and identify gaps in scientific literature. The report contains comprehensive information on climate science to guide policy-makers in the Philippines.
He graduated with a degree in environmental science from the Ateneo de Manila University in 2014. He took his masteral studies in atmospheric science from the same university.
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