By Issa Quirante | Special to the BusinessMirror
THE Philippines, a tropical archipelago, is visited by at least 20 storms yearly and is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change. In recent years it has been experiencing significant climate-change impacts, such as extreme-weather events and super typhoons.
In line with this, a coalition of social movements, faith-based communities and other civil-society organizations across the Philippines came together recently to call for a stronger, fair and just global climate agreement ahead of the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which will be held in Paris, France, starting on November 30.
The group also held activities, called a Week of Action for Climate Justice Pilipinas, in different cities and towns across the country.
“This week of action for climate justice is being held as our contribution to a worldwide effort to deliver our message to all governments in the world, which will be convening in Paris, France, from November 30 until December 12, to hammer out a new international climate agreement. This agreement holds much significance for Filipinos,” Lidy Nacpil, coordinator of Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development and the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Change, said.
The initiative, Nacpil added, is a major contribution to our people’s struggle to ensure that climate change is addressed by all governments in a manner that it requires, which is drastic, radical, fair and equitable action across the world.
The group held activities for a week of action from November 23 to 30, across the country, which were part of mobilizations across the world.
Activities include a 20,000-strong “March for Climate Justice Pilipinas” on November 28 at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City, the highlight of the week; a caravan across Luzon coal hot spots, from Semirara Island in Antique to Quezon and Batangas, going to Manila, from November 26 to 28; a November 29 march, led by the Archdiocese of Manila, to Rajah Sulayman Park, followed by an ecumenical service and Mass; and a November 30 Bonifacio Day mobilization by labor groups, which will include a call for climate justice.
Organizations that participated in the March for Climate Justice Pilipinas include the Ecological Justice Interfaith Movement, Greenpeace Philippines, the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development, and Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, among others.
Various actions were also held in Tacloban, Iligan, Metro Cebu in the Visayas, and in Davao, General Santos, Malaybalay, Ozamiz, Pagadian and Tangub in Mindanao.
The group, through the March for Climate Justice Pilipinas, demanded from the Philippines and all governments participating in the international climate talks to:
- Address the urgency of the climate crisis with decisive, just, fair and ambitious actions nationally and globally;
- Pursue transformation of energy systems—no to dirty and harmful energy, shift to clean and renewable energy for people and communities;
- Protect peoples’ right to food, water and the commons;
- Guarantee the rights of all people and communities; deliver justice and address the impacts of climate change, including those particular to women and indigenous communities;
- Ensure a just transition for workers and communities;
- Deliver climate finance needed to empower people to deal with climate impacts, loss and damage, and make the transition to sustainable development pathways;
- Reject false solutions; and
- Set global targets for mitigation actions to keep temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius, ensure equitable and fair sharing of mitigation actions among countries and within countries, and deliver urgent short-term actions.
According to the COP21 web site, the international political response to climate change began at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, where the “Rio Convention” included the adoption of the UNFCCC.
This convention set out a framework for action aimed at stabilizing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases to avoid “dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.” The main objective of the annual Conference of Parties is to review the convention’s implementation.
COP21, also known as the 2015 Paris Climate Conference, will, for the first time in over 20 years of UN negotiations, aim to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, with the aim of keeping global warming below 2°C.
The Philippines pledged to reduce its emissions by 70 percent in its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution submission to the UNFCCC, but this pledge is dependent on international climate finance and other support.
Image credits: Issa Quirante