‘Call for justice’: Advocates embark on month-long climate walk for Yolanda’s 10th anniversary

MANILA, Philippines — Climate and human rights advocates began Sunday their month-long journey from Manila to Tacloban City in Leyte to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) and amplify the call for climate justice.

This year’s climate walk will retrace the steps of the first climate walk held in 2014, starting from Kilometer Zero in Rizal Park, Manila and ending at the ground zero of Yolanda’s impact in Tacloban. 

The 1000-kilometer journey on foot and on bicycles will culminate on November 7, on the eve of Yolanda, one of the world’s most devastating cyclones that left at least 6,000 people dead. More than 1,000 people listed as missing were never found. 

Organizers said that the walk aims to amplify the call for climate justice and urge immediate action from global leaders to tackle the climate crisis. 

The Philippines is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis, with poor and rural communities bearing the brunt of disasters. 

“Haiyan, one of the strongest typhoons ever recorded, has been pushed back into memory. The importance of conscious and intentional global ambition is all the more urgent as more and more people are reeling from the climate emergency’s impacts,” said Yeb Saño, lead walker and executive director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

“Filipinos refuse to accept the vicious cycle of destruction and reconstruction. We also refuse to accept that we are reduced to numbers, so it is our aim to remind the whole world,” he added. 

Ian Rivera, national coordinator of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, said that the walk serves as a reminder of the responsibility of developed countries to act with ambition and ensure a rapid and just energy transition.

Climate scientists have warned that the window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future is rapidly closing and stressed that urgent climate action is important. 

“There is no other solution to the crisis but governments pursuing a path to climate justice and democracy and ending inequality. Failure would mean placing the Filipino people in harm's way and perpetuating the injustice already being experienced by those who are reeling from the impacts of the climate crisis,” Rivera said. 

The climate walk is expected to have four major stopovers: Los Baños In Laguna, Lucena City in Quezon province, Naga City in Camarines Sur and Legazpi in Albay. At each stop, participants will engage with local communities to raise awareness of climate issues.