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WHETHER you agree or not with US President Donald Trump in exiting from the Paris Climate Agreement, the world will continue to spin on its axis. But like an ad of a famous watch says, you do not own it (the world)…you only take care of it for the next generation.
What we do with our environment will have repercussions. Climate change, or whatever manifestation you may call it, is distinctly felt around the world, affecting human health, our habitat, and the sustainability of our socioeconomic systems.
SO FAR, SO GOOD. The Philippines averages about 24 typhoons or extreme tropical depressions in a year. The latest was Odette, which has been kind in comparison to other devastations. A thumbnail sketch of the worst typhoons which visited the Philippines and the deaths/damage caused: Haiyan (Yolanda), 2013, 6,800/P89.6B; Thelma (Uring), 1991, 5,100/P1.05B; Bopha (Pabo), 2012, 1,901/P42.2B; Ike (Ruping), 1984, 1,363/ P4.1B; Washi (Sendong), 2011, 1,268/ P1.6B;Trix, 1952, 995/P0.883B; Nina (Sisang), 1987, 979/P1.12B; Fengshen (Frank), 2009, 938/P4.27B; Angela (Rosing), 1995, 936/P10.83B; and Amy (Yoyoung), 1951, 991/P0.7B.
You can choose your friends; but you cannot choose your geography. A cynic said that the principal exports of the Philippines to our closest neighbor Taiwan are the seasonal typhoons.
The worst typhoon that devastated Taiwan was the Morakot in 2009, which caused 673 fatalities, $3.3 billion in damage One landslide and subsequent flood destroyed the entire town of Xiaolin. In the wake of the storm, Taiwan’s government faced extreme criticism for the slow response to the disaster.
(But I hasten to add, in this instance, that the typhoon Morakot was not exported by the Philippines.)
Sensible to our shared geography, in 2011 Taiwan donated 15 weather stations to the Philippines’ Department of Science and Technology, and our weather bureau shares information with Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau, expanding the range of Taiwan’s weather forecasts. PAGASA and the Philippines Department of Science and Technology work jointly in the implementation of weather stations.
Minister Lee Ying-yuan of Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration, says that there is irrefutable evidence of climate change, with dire consequences. Not to despair; he enjoins us “to recognize that the planet’s wellbeing is inextricably linked to humanity’s survival, and should seize the opportunity to transform the way we live through direct actions.”
Some measures that Taiwan can share with us:
• Greenhouse Gas Reduction Action Plan-(energy, manufacturing, transportation, residential and commercial property, agriculture, and the environment): regular five-year reviews to ensure effective management.
• Target of an overall energy mix of 20 percent renewables and 50 percent natural gas, -- (coal dropping to 30 percent, by 2025.
• Amended Electricity Act to spur the development of green energy -- Public participation with Energy Transformation White Paper to accelerate the transition and incentives, such as those involving financing, investment capital, funding channels, and personnel training, to enlist the help of business and industry in developing green energy technologies.
• Cutting carbon emissions to 50 percent of 2005 levels by 2050 -- setting up special circular economy zones with a healthy regenerative economy that can continue to grow while reducing
Minister Lee says that in our pursuit for better life, we have made excessive use of fossil fuels and squandered Earth’s natural resources and are paying a heavy price today. He points out that Taiwan, once dubbed Garbage Island, is today a recycling poster child, ranking among the top three countries in the world for its initiatives to promote a circular economy.
Minister Lee concludes that today’s leaders, including the Pope, call for more to be done to combat the threats brought by climate change. Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen has pledged that her country will be an unrelentingly positive force in pursuing the solutions so desperately needed to preserve our planet.
To borrow from a figure of speech of an artist/mountaineer, the Philippines and Taiwan are like two mountain climbers tied to each other. We can only help each other, and the rest of the world, in a common goal to take care of this planet for the next generation.
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