Why declaring a climate emergency is timely and necessary
Credit to Author: LUDWIG O. FEDERIGAN| Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2019 17:32:49 +0000
First of two parts
TIME Magazine’s 2019 Person of the Year and Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, in a surprised appearance at the 25th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP25) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) last week, told reporters that the voices of climate strikers were being heard but not enough “concrete action” was taking place. “Of course there is no victory, because the only thing we want to see is real action,” she said. “So we have achieved a lot, but if you look at it from a certain point of view we have achieved nothing.”
Today, we mark the first morning after the conclusion of UNFCCC’s COP25 that ended yesterday. Most people who work on climate change knew that the conference was designed to take the next crucial steps after agreeing on the implementation guidelines of the Paris Agreement at COP 24 in Poland last year and the full operationalization of the Paris Agreement next year. The outcomes of the conference will be discussed in the succeeding columns.
Deputy Speaker and Antique Rep. Loren Legarda headed the Philippine Delegation to COP25. In a press statement released by the Climate Change Commission, Legarda came to this year’s United Nations climate talks to unite the voices with our fellow developing countries in the urgent call for climate justice. “We maintain the resolve to urge developed nations to provide us sufficient climate finance, technologies and means for capacity building to aid us as we face the intensifying impacts of climate change,” Legarda said.
While the Philippine delegation was attending COP25, the country was being battered by Typhoon Tisoy (international name Kammuri and classified as Category 4). Based on the latest report of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, Tisoy affected 1.560 million people in 3,044 barangays, and left five dead and 322 missing persons. Also, a total of P4.6 billion of damage to infrastructure and agriculture was recorded. Although linking a particular extreme weather event to anthropogenic climate change is a scientific challenge that attribution science continues to tackle, the American Meteorological Society’s report titled “Explaining Extreme Events of 2017 From a Climate Perspective” published in 2018 reported that out of the 146 research findings, 70 percent “identified a substantial link between an extreme event and climate change.”
PH second most affected by extreme weather events in 2018
A typhoon like Tisoy is not new to the Philippines. Over the years, the list is growing, strength and intensity are becoming stronger, and impacts are undeniable.
In Germanwatch’s Global Climate Risk Index 2020 released during the recent COP25, the Philippines was identified as the second most affected country by weather events for 2018, next only to Japan. It reported that in September 2018, Typhoon “Ompong” (international name “Mangkhut”) ploughed through the northern part of the Philippines as a Category 5 typhoon — the most powerful typhoon recroded worldwide. “It reached top speed of up to 270 kilometers per hour when it made a landfall, affecting more than 250,000 people across the country. About 59 people were killed, most by landslides set off by the heavy rainfalls,” the report said.
While the Philippines ranked second in 2018, it ranked the fourth most affected country in the Long-Term Climate Risk Index covering the period 1999 to 2018, next only to Puerto Rico, Myanmar and Haiti. Ironically, among the top ten countries, the Philippines has the most number of weather events at a total of 317.
The Philippines, one of the least contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, continues to bear the piling costs of the damaging impacts of climate change. Imagine the billions of pesos in the government’s annual expenditure allocated for reconstruction, rehabilitation and humanitarian assistance that can be channeled to other social needs of our people i.e. housing, food, education, among others.
Declare 2020 as disaster and climate emergency awareness year
Albay Second District Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, invoking that the Philippines has been suffering from a disaster and climate emergency which compels a whole-of-government, whole-of-society, and whole-of-nation policy response to anticipate, address and adapt to the impacts, consequences and causes of climate change, filed House Resolution 535 last Nov. 19, 2019 — the first day of the national observance of the 12th Global Warming and Climate Change Consciousness Week — urging his fellow lawmakers to declare 2020 as a Disaster and Climate Emergency Awareness Year.
Aside from the expressed declaration, the resolution also prayed that Congress: Continue to conduct inquiries in aid of legislation and in relation to its oversight functions on measures being implemented by all concerned national government agencies to address the impacts of disasters and climate change on the fundamental rights of Filipinos; Enjoin a whole-of-government, whole-of-nation, and whole-of-society mobilization on disaster and climate emergency, in behalf of climate-vulnerable local government units, business sectors, academic, scientific research institutions, civil society, nongovernment organizations, religious groups, tri-media and stakeholders; and Ensure that all national and local governmental budget allocations and expenditures be climate- and disaster-responsive.
PH faith communities declare climate emergency
A few days after Salceda filed the resolution, leaders of various religions and faith communities declared climate emergency through the issuance of the Philippine Interfaith Declaration on Addressing Climate Emergency.
The declaration acknowledged the science of the climate crisis, caused by excessive greenhouse gas emissions from harmful human-induced activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels and, at the same, recognized that the Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of this crisis.
And in order to address the climate crisis, the leaders of faith and religious groups committed to supporting all efforts in forging a path toward low-carbon development. “We commit to hold up the surge in religious calls to support climate action and support endeavours for strengthening climate change mitigation and adaptation and disaster risk reduction management, in line with the goals of the Paris climate agreement, especially limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels,” the declaration added. It also called for an urgent reduction of our use of fossil fuels, especially coal, and a rapid development of cleaner renewable energy.
Moreover, it also called on the Philippine government to develop cost-effective and inclusive strategies for enacting climate change mitigation and adaptation measures that are participatory, inclusive and driven by the needs of communities and organizations, and demand countries and corporations responsible for the climate crisis and other forms of environmental degradation for proper compensation to the communities most affected by the impacts of these phenomena, with a focus on addressing loss and damage.
To be concluded next Saturday
The author is the executive director of the Young Environmental Forum. He completed his climate change and development course at the University of East Anglia (United Kingdom) and executive program on sustainability leadership at Yale University (United States). On Monday, December 16, he will deliver the keynote address during the “Think Green: Elevate the Spirit of Environmental Commitment” at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. He can be reached at ludwig.federigan@gmail.com.