No to a 'back to normal'

I greet you happy Pentecost and hope that you are filled with love and peace during this time. As we celebrate the birth of the Church, may we also renew our commitment to be true to its teachings -- in serving God, loving one another, and caring for this Common Home for which He has appointed us as stewards.

The latter I draw attention to once more.

Last Thursday, Withdraw from Coal, a campaign led by civil society groups, faith groups, and members of the Church -- among whom I am glad to be included, launched a new initiative in its bid to urge Philippine banks to stop fueling the climate emergency with their financial services to the coal industry. The Coal Divestment Criteria and Scorecard is a coal exposure and policy assessment tool which would "grade" coal financing activities, divestment policies, and climate action efforts of each of the fifteen banks found to have financially supported coal developers and projects in the last decade. With it, we hope to remind banks of their role as climate actors, help them assess where they stand in terms of aligning with Paris Agreement ambitions, and urge them to fully maximize their capacity to steer the transition to clean energy and sustainable practices.

At this point in time, such initiatives that call for a phase out of destructive industries and practices are crucial. The beginnings and the massive spread of the coronavirus pandemic, especially among vulnerable groups, are both rooted in practices that have failed to give priority to the welfare of people and the environment above all else. Many have said that the pandemic is the way the Earth chose to heal itself, like a silver lining amid the crisis. However, recovery pathways being chosen today prove that thinking this way is simply i naccu r at e.

In countries hard hit by the virus which have now been able to defeat it more or less, pollution levels are rapidly returning to what they were before as governments and businesses strive to boost economic recovery. In China, for example, citizens have returned to breathing the same dirty air as they were before the pandemic.

This, of course, echoes a pattern in global crises in the past, wherein emissions spike