LF: Climate Justice in the Philippines
I am a 20 year old male, living in the Philippines, and like every other person my age, I aspire and dream to do many more things in the decades I have ahead such as visiting landscapes like beaches and mountains, living a healthy lifestyle in a clean and stable environment, and of course lead a life I have reason to value. Though a major factor that runs contrary to these plans is climate change. I therefore have a huge stake with regards to issues involving climate change. Living in an archipelagic country, situated in the ring of fire, the Philippines is very vulnerable to natural hazards and climate issues, therefore also making me vulnerable. I therefore expect the country’s national government to abide to the Paris agreement, by mitigating any human induced negative environmental impact. Although from what I have observed, such ideals have not been put into action, with the prioritization of unsustainable and the suppression and endangerment of climate activists in the country.
Energy is obviously essential to meet the basic needs of human beings. There are many sources for energy consumption, with renewable types of energy being the ideal source, although the big energy firms within the country look utilize more coal, an environmentally harmful source of energy due to its green house gas emissions. According to Greenpeace, four of the country’s biggest energy firms are set to use more coal, doubling the country’s coal capacity in the next two to six years if their proposed projects are to be approved, and by 2030, the coal supply will be more than twice than what it was in 2015, directing the country towards the opposite direction of sustainability.
It should be clear to us what years of unsustainable practices lead to, for such effects are already clearly felt within the country. Having made up of thousands of islands and consisting of the world’s longest discontinuous coastline, the fishing industry in the country engages over 1.6 million people, with 85% of them being small scale fishermen, unable to cope with drastic changes in the marine environment. Since year 2010, the number of harvested fish has been on decline, with climate change contributing to this decline. This further endangers the financial security of already financially insecure fishermen.
Although would you not say that there is still room for some optimism? Of course there is, many Filipinos are environmentally “woke”, they understand the implications of climate change, and more and more people are joining the conversation of sustainability. Although what if I told you that the current political environment in the country is extremely hostile to advocates and protectors of the environment. The international non-profit organization, Global Witness, released a report labelling the Philippines as the deadliest country for land and environmental defenders in 2018, with 164 of such peoples killed in that year, in addition, other activists receive death threats and are threatened with arrests. The recently implemented and controversial Anti-terror bill is of no help to the cause of these environmental activists, for it can further entrench them towards more danger.
Despite what President Duterte’s said in the UN General Assembly on September 23 with regards to climate change, which I quote “The same urgency needed to fight Covid-19 is needed to address the climate crisis.”, the president seems as if he is failing to convert his own words into action. If his words really do have true and good underlying intentions, the president must reject the proposal for more coal use and create more room and space for democratic conversations on the world’s climate crisis.
