After four years of collaboration in transforming and refining the city’s climate strategies, the Quezon City Government and C40 Cities, in partnership with the British Embassy Manila, formally held a handover ceremony in Novotel Hotel in Araneta City, Cubao.
The high-level handover ceremony, “Building a Resilient and Inclusive Future,” marks the official transition of the UK-funded Urban Climate Action Programme (UCAP) Climate Action Implementation (CAI) portfolio to the city’s ownership.
The centerpiece of the event is the showcase of the Quezon City Green Building Ordinance (GBC) 2025. This landmark code modernizes the city’s 2009 ordinance, raising standards for energy efficiency, water conservation, and renewable energy adoption. With the building sector accounting for 60% of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, the new code is a cornerstone of the city’s strategy to reduce emissions by 30% by 2030.
Building on the results of its initial rollout, the GBC (2025) is projected to reduce the city’s electricity consumption by 12% (up to 900 GWh per year) by 2030. This translates to an annual reduction of up to 0.67 million tonnes of CO2 emissions — the equivalent of taking 120,000 cars off the road — while potentially cutting electricity bills for condominium residents by as much as 50%.
Leading the Way in Inclusive Climate Action and Good Green Jobs
A defining legacy of the partnership is Quezon City’s role as a global pioneer in mainstreaming inclusive climate action. The city is the first in the Philippines to locally contextualize a definition for Good Green Jobs (GGJ), developed through an intensive inclusive process that engaged the most marginalised sectors, including workers in the informal economy.
This collaboration resulted in a landmark City Resolution that Quezon City is now advancing as formal legislation.
Implementation is already progressing beyond the UCAP CAI Programme through the Kapitbahayan Handholding Framework, which has empowered the Quezon City Public Employment Service Office (PESO) to secure funding from the International Labour Organization (ILO) for a formalization roadmap and a social protection handbook for workers. Furthermore, the city’s first-in-country Inclusive Climate Action (ICA) Training Programme has integrated climate equity into the official development system for over 19,000 city employees, ensuring that the transition to a green economy benefits all residents.
Unlocking Solar Potential through Digital Innovation
The ceremony also highlighted the city’s new Solar Dashboard, a sophisticated tool that visualizes current solar adoption and identifies untapped generation potential across all rooftops in the city. Data from the dashboard reveals a staggering potential yield nearly three times higher than the city’s total 2023 electricity consumption, democratising data for private sector and residential adoption.
The dashboard has already become a vital platform for dialogue, enabling the City Government to host policy discussions with national agencies—including the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) — and the utility provider MERALCO. These dialogues aim to unblock regulatory hurdles and accelerate adoptioninvestment strategies that align with the city’s Climate Action Plan.
Mayor Joy Belmonte, Quezon City, said: “The increasing temperatures have affected our constituents’ health and livelihoods. As the city government, it is our duty to uphold the rights of our people to a balanced and healthful ecology. Through the Quezon City Green Building Code of 2025, we are making our establishments more liveable, comfortable, and resilient. This initiative not only helps us mitigate the harmful effects of global climate change but ensures that our transition to a green economy is inclusive, leaving no Quezon City residents behind.”
Sarah Hulton OBE, British Ambassador to the Philippines, said: “The UK is proud to have supported Quezon City’s ambitious climate journey through the Urban Climate Action Programme. The 2025 Green Building Code is more than a policy; it is a benchmark for community-led sustainable and resilient city planning and we hope can be an inspiration for other cities across the region.”
Murali Ram, C40 Regional Director for East, Southeast Asia and Oceania, said: “Quezon City is a global trailblazer in proving that climate action and social equity go hand-in-hand. By launching this ambitious Code, institutionalising renewable energy adoption and mainstreaming inclusive climate action through training for its entire workforce, the city has moved from planning into a committed era of implementation. The tools and roadmaps developed here serve as a vital blueprint for cities across the Philippines and the wider region.”
The institutionalized changes — including the establishment of a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting (MER) Framework — ensure that Quezon City’s climate leadership will continue to scale. Through UCAP CAI, the City has also been improving its capacity to access climate financing for long term implementation. This includes the establishment of a Climate Finance Technical Working Group, for effective coordination and accountability. The city remains steadfast in its vision of a sustainable, carbon-neutral future by 2050.
###
