QUEZON CITY, Philippines—Following President Rodrigo Duterte’s last State of the Nation Address, Greenpeace Country Director Lea Guerrero said:
“Despite strong calls for climate action from the youth and the Filipino communities, it was disappointing that yesterday’s SONA did not lay out any plans about how the administration would address the climate crisis during the president’s last year in office.
“This is a big gap considering that everything that transpires, all the other plans the president has laid out–for economic growth, for bettering Filipinos’ welfare–will inevitably happen against the backdrop of the growing climate emergency. We see this year after year whenever the country is assailed by typhoons and floods, and it’s a significant part of our new reality.
“While Pres. Duterte mentioned ‘resilience’ several times in his speech, along with small wins for farmers and public transportation, we know that the country cannot attain resilience from current and future crises without concrete and coherent plans to facilitate a people-centered action to address the multiple crises the country is facing. The Duterte administration must do more to prioritize solutions that empower communities and future-proof our country so that we can achieve a better normal.
Greenpeace is calling on the President to make climate action and climate justice his legacy by doing more and transforming words into action during his last year in office.
The current administration made important steps in slowing down the expansion of coal energy, but we need concrete policies for the DOE to ensure the massive uptake and utilization of renewable energy. Alongside the coal moratorium declared in 2020, the administration must not support nuclear or fossil gas expansion as this will delay the energy transition and prolong our dependence on fossil fuels. The Declaration of Climate Emergency passed as a Resolution by the Lower House last year should also be a signal for the administration to position climate action as the central policy of the state, and recognize that the climate crisis is not just about disasters, but about food crisis, water crisis, oceans crisis, biodiversity crisis, but also about livelihoods, health, jobs, and having a roof over one’s head. In short, it is about the welfare of Filipinos.
“The President and his cabinet members have repeatedly spoken about climate justice, and the President himself has constantly reminded Filipinos that he is working for their welfare. Together with youth and communities, Greenpeace is calling on President Duterte and his administration to transform words into action: ensure a transition to resilient and efficient food, energy, and transport systems; hold the big polluters accountable for climate impacts; uphold active citizen participation; and put people at the core of local and national policy-making.”
Media contact:
Angeli Cantillana
Communications Campaigner, Greenpeace Southeast Asia – Philippines
[email protected] | +63 998 595 9733