Photos by Jilson Tiu/Greenpeace
IN PHOTOS: It has been a month since Typhoon Odette flattened whole communities and affected millions of families in Visayas and Mindanao but the Philippine government has yet to address the climate crisis with urgency. Greenpeace, as it did during the onslaught of the typhoon, continues to call on the current and incoming government to declare a national climate emergency, in response to the worsening impacts of climate change on the country.
“The declaration of a climate emergency is the utmost important solution that can be done to address the climate injustices that have happened in the Philippines constantly,” said Greenpeace campaigner Khevin Yu, who was deployed in Surigao del Norte after the typhoon landfall. “We have been experiencing regular climate impacts similar to this typhoon, and this is not the first time – this will not be the last as well.”
Greenpeace said it is even more important now to have a coherent climate strategy beyond disaster response both at the local and national level, which would address long-term vulnerabilities, not just catastrophes. This includes increasing communities’ adaptive capacity to climate disasters.
The environmental group also said that in order for communities in climate-vulnerable countries like the Philippines to survive, fossil fuels must be phased out, starting with a halt to all new fossil fuel projects. Rich countries must radically decrease their emissions, put more money on the table for climate finance, as well as provide compensation on loss and damage for communities that would have to recover and rebuild after a disaster.
With slow progress on strong and ambitious climate action from rich countries as seen in the COP 26 climate talks last month, Greenpeace believes that there needs to be stronger climate action at home. Particularly, the Philippine government must:
- Hold fossil fuel companies accountable for the climate crisis and call on other countries to do the same. It must also lead the call for a global phase out of fossil fuels toward a just transition to renewable energy.
- Call on rich countries for more ambitious emissions reductions targets, more money for climate finance, and compensation for loss and damage.
- Ensure rapid transition to renewable energy at home by phasing out coal, stopping fossil gas expansion and targeting 50% of RE in the energy mix by 2030.
- Ratchet up the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). At the moment, the country has promised a 75% carbon emissions reduction from 2020 to 2030, but the unconditional target is only at 2.72%.
- Ensure the Climate Emergency Declaration is followed through with a coherent climate plan. The government must institute climate action as the central policy of the state, and must protect people and climate on the basis of climate justice. Climate action must also be at the heart of the country’s COVID recovery plan.
“The Filipino people should not merely be part of yearly statistics. Our ‘resilience’ should not be met by feel-good stories, but should be rewarded by our institutions and global leaders with justice for our losses, safety for our loved ones, and a better future for our youth,” said Greenpeace campaigner Virginia Benosa-Llorin.
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