Manila — Greenpeace activists and youth climate strikers today marched to the Mendiola Peace Arch in Manila to hand over an open letter to Malacañang calling on President Rodrigo Duterte to issue a ‘Climate Emergency’ Declaration.
The demand for urgent political action comes as recovery efforts continue after close to 500,000 residents in the Bicol region were forced to flee their homes by the destructive force of climate-change fueled Typhoon Tisoy – whose high winds and heavy rains have triggered flash floods and landslides in some areas, with the provinces of Albay and Sorsogon among the hardest hit.
The call coincides with the start of the UN climate talks in Madrid, and ahead of an expected announcement by the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines following its investigation into the responsibility of 47 fossil fuel corporations for human rights impacts resulting from climate change.
The open letter asks that the President immediately enact an Executive Order declaring a climate emergency, which addresses the climate crisis and its impacts on the lives of Filipino people, and makes this urgent issue a top government priority. The declaration is a concrete step to inform government actions to:
• Put climate urgency at the centre of all policy decision-making from a local to national level.
• Hold fossil fuel companies accountable for their role in driving climate change and inflicting harm on the Filipino people.
• Demand other countries, particularly industrialized nations, to enhance their emissions reduction ambitions in order to meet the Paris Agreement’s aim to limit global temperature rise within 1.5 degrees Celsius.
• Ensure the Philippines’ rapid and just transition to a low-carbon pathway through a massive uptake of renewable energy solutions.
• Phase-out coal, and stop all plans for future coal and fossil fuel investments
Quote Sheet
Lea Guerrero, country director, Greenpeace Philippines:
“The Filipino people have been suffering from the impacts of climate change for decades now — with a Climate Emergency Declaration, the government can mobilize unprecedented action for Filipinos to attain climate justice. As a first step, the Philippine government must hold accountable fossil fuel companies who have contributed the most to this climate crisis. These carbon majors include some of the world’s largest and richest companies, such as Shell, BP and ExxonMobil, who continue to expand their harmful operations at the expense of communities and future generations. It is time that they are held responsible for what they have done.”
Jefferson Estela, co-founder, Youth Strike for Climate Philippines:
“By declaring a Climate Emergency, the Philippine administration acknowledges that resolving this global crisis should be a priority by the national government and the international community. However, the government must show clear efforts in addressing the factors contributing to this crisis after declaring a climate emergency and we, the Filipino youth, are striking for climate because we are not just talking about our future here but the future of the next generation.”
Mitzi Jonelle Tan, convenor of Youth Advocates for Climate Action in the Philippines (YACAP):
“Filipino youth refuse to inherit a dying planet and a sunken country. We are demanding climate justice. We are fed up with the willful ignorance of multinational companies and world leaders of countries that are contributing the most to environmental degradation and the climate crisis. We will not stay in our classrooms when the threats to our country and to Filipinos are so clear and apparent.”
Luke Borromeo, Agham Youth National Chairperson:
“The vulnerability of the Philippines to damages of climate crisis is largely influenced by its history of environmental plunder by transnational companies and their governments. The unifying thread of these different suspects is their similar motivation: profit. We must shift now to a sustainable system devoid of environmental plunder, absent of profit-oriented practices, because genuine climate justice will never be found in a profit-oriented system.”