One facepalm moment after another
the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), of which the annual Conference of Parties (COP) meetings are a part. Proposals to create a sort of “international climate court” have been repeatedly made@—@the@most@recent@one@I@found@was@last@month@ — but one does not exist yet, and likely never will.
Even if there was such a court, the expectation that any of@the@countries@mentioned@—@or@indeed,@any@country@at@ all — would willingly submit to its jurisdiction or could be compelled to do so is laughably vain. The Philippines, even after the replacement of the aggressively obstreperM ous@Duterte@administration,@still@won’t@acknowledge@the@ International@Criminal@Court[@making@a@demand@that@ others just as protective of their “sovereignty” and in a far, far@better@position@to@defend@it@submit@to@a@similar@tribunal@ that doesn’t actually exist is not just naïve, it’s embarrassing.
A@better@course@of@action,@if@the@Capmi@group@is@seriM ous about doing some real work and not just making noise@to@attract@attention,@would@be@to@focus@potential@ litigation at specific sources of harmful emissions and other@climate@impacts.@Try@suing@Shell@or@BP@or@the@China@ Baowu@Group,@instead@of@half@the@world@at@once.@
JJJ A@facepalmMinducing@moment@of@another@sort@also@ appeared@in@Friday’s@paper@in@the@form@of@an@appeal@ to President Marcos by a consumer advocacy group to intervene in the ludicrous situation surrounding the controversial power supply agreement (PSA) between San Miguel Global Power and Meralco. This sorry saga has@become@a@series@of@stumbles@that@are@each@more@ ridiculous@than@the@one@before@it,@beginning@with@San@ Miguel forgetting to include some kind of cost adjustM ment mechanism in the PSA they offered to Meralco.
That fixed-price contract caught San Miguel out (or so it said) when gas prices skyrocketed in the wake of RusM sia’s invasion of Ukraine, compelling them to go to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to seek approval for@an@increase@in@generation@rates.@The@ERC,@although@ there@was@some@disagreement@among@the@commissioners,@ came to the consensus that San Miguel’s problem was one@of@its@own@making@that@consumers@should@not@be@ expected to pay for, and rejected the petition. San Miguel promptly@took@its@complaint@to@the@Court@of@Appeals,@ which has issued a temporary injunction against both the ERC’s@denial@of@the@rate@hike@request@and@the@PSA@itself,@ meaning that, at least for the time being, San Miguel can sell its electricity to Meralco at whatever price it wants to, and@consumer@welfare@be@damned.@
That@outcome@at@the@Court@of@Appeals@could@posM sibly@cause@some@to@wonder@whether@the@court@is@ motivated by something other than interpretation of@the@law@for@the@public@interest.@I’m@not@suggesting@ that, of course; but it is conceivable that the strange ruling@might@raise@some@suspicions.@
All@that@is@bad@enough,@but@on@Friday@it@was@reported@ that a consumer advocacy group has issued a public call on President Marcos to intervene personally to ensure reasonable@electric@rates@for@consumers.@
How,@exactly,@do@they@suppose@he@is@to@do@that?@To@ be sure, the President expressed concern over the Court of@Appeals@decision@and@its@impact@on@consumers,@but@ there is no real process he could use to override it. Contrary to what most people seem to believe, he’s “President Marcos,” not “King Ferdinand”; when it comes to running a country, there are rules. Just like bowling. Even if he could intervene, he shouldn’t; this entire situation is already a mess that would just be made@worse@by@more@outMofMscope@interference.@