Climate change advocacy gains momentum
ONE happy and positive development amidst the current uncertainty and anxiety that the average Filipino feels, abetted for certain by the increased number of killings, fake news, and divisiveness, is the President’s final nod to the Climate Change Paris Pact. Commission on Climate Change Chair man Emmanuel M. de Guzman was “overjoyed” as he noted that this affirms the President’s pronouncement that climate change is indeed a top priority of his administration, but also his advocacy of championing climate justice for the poorest of the poor. Former senator and DENR secretary Heherson Alvarez said that this would pave the way for Senate ratification of the climate change accord. And that this would enable us to transition from disastrous carbon fuel to a mix of alternative clean energy – solar, wind, hydro, waste and geothermal – which can now be done without hampering the Duterte plan of modernization. Alvarez, who is chairman of the Advisory Board of the Climate Change Institute lauded the President for his display of leadership when he listened to the appeal of advocates and his cabinet. The threat of climate change that brings death to our people and irreparable destruction of our life support systems is just as challenging as the drug menace, he said.
The Philippines will now be able to take part in negotiations on future commitments and would allow the country, a non-major emitter of greenhouse gas, to “transition while the country tries to develop and improve our economic situation,” notes former Commission on Climate Change chair Mary Anne Lucille Sering. The consequence for the failure to ratify is that they can do anything which we may not agree with and we would be helpless as we are just another observer.
It will be remembered that in 2016, the Philippines signed up with other participants in the Conference of the Parties on the climate change pact that took place the previous year. Commitment to the pact is a two-step process. The first is the agreement in Paris, and the second, formal ratification.
However, after assuming office, President Duterte criticized the commitments made by then President Aquino to cut emission, saying that agreement would stop developing countries from industrializing by burning fossil fuels as rich nations had done. But last November, he changed course, and said he would sign the agreement.
Adopted by 195 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Paris Agreement calls on countries to combat climate change and to accelerate and intensify actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future, as well as to adapt to the increasing impacts of climate change. To date, 55 parties to the convention, accounting for an estimated 55% of the total global greenhouse gas emissions, have deposited their instruments of ratification, approval, or accession with the Depository.
On the subject of sustainability, the call to care for our “common home” was recently made by Jaime T. Nieto, SJ (Mother Pelican, 2017). Citing Pope Francis’ “Laudato Si,” the encyclical on environment and sustainable development, Fr. Nieto suggests that along with proposals that seek to empower the consumer, educate the citizens, and transform political establishments through individual and voting behavior, we cannot ignore the community. For, as he argued by citing statements from Laudato Si, the individual today has become overwhelmed by the complexity and number of decisions to be made, and, however well-informed, there is need to support him, and likewise sustain his commitment through community networks. When Pope Francis affirms that “climate is a common good, belonging to all, and meant for all, we need to understand it as a common good.” Thus, socio-political transformation, community action must go hand in hand with voluntary simplicity, also another critical prerequisite for our times.