(in photo above) Participants of the La Union Province Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report presentation.
ICLEI Southeast Asia formally presented the results of La Union Province’s community-level greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory in a multi-stakeholder culmination activity held on 21 April 2025.
The event brought together representatives from the provincial and 20 municipal governments in La Union, national agencies, civil society organizations, private sector, and academe to discuss the province’s emissions profile and identify next steps to mitigating local emissions.
The inventory estimated La Union’s total emissions from Scopes 1 and 2 across its 20 local government units to be at 2.77 million tCO2e. Industrial processes, particularly cement production, was the single largest source of emissions. Other significant contributors included agriculture—especially rice cultivation and livestock management—residential electricity use, and transportation.
Rice production accounted for 225,798 tCO2e due to methane released from flooded paddies, while livestock contributed 147,955 tCO2e from enteric fermentation and manure management. The residential sector showed high demand for electricity, totaling 201,848 tCO2e, largely from non-renewable sources. Road transport added 158,176 tCO2e, reflecting the province’s dependence on motorized vehicles for tourism and commerce.
On the positive side, La Union recorded 217,633 tCO2e in negative emissions from carbon sinks such as reforestation areas, helping offset part of its total footprint.
(in photo above) Participants also brainstormed potential mitigation actions per emissions sector.
Following the presentation, participants engaged in a workshop to identify potential mitigation actions. Using a “tree map” approach, stakeholders proposed solutions across key sectors, ranging from energy, transport, agriculture, and waste management.
The activity paves the way for the development of a provincial Local Climate Change Action Plan in the future.
La Union is a coastal province located in the Northern Philippines. With a 2020 population of over 820,000, La Union is around 1,497 square kilometers wide and is made up of one city and 19 municipalities. It had a 2022 gross domestic product of PHP 118.60-billion.
