Government urged: Prioritize climate responses

CEBU, Philippines — A multi-sectoral group is calling on the national government to prioritize comprehensive climate responses, especially with the DOST-PAGASA already raised a La Nina alert.

The Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development reported that environmental advocacy groups, Church leaders, and community representatives made such call following the so-called “grave inadequacies in both preparing for intensifying climate impacts and mitigating worse climate change”.

“The recent onslaught of Typhoons Butchoy, Carina, and Habagat, coupled with the catastrophic oil spill, has caused immense suffering and destruction, particularly among the most vulnerable sectors of our society. All these, as Filipinos have yet to recover from the extreme impacts of the El Niño earlier in the year,” said Bishop Gerry Alminaza, Vice Chairperson of Caritas Philippines and Convenor of the EcoConvergence National Hub.

Bishop Alminaza also stressed that the climate crisis and the exacerbation of its impacts are facilitated by systemic problems that allow business-as-usual proliferation of destructive practices, and which push vulnerable people even further to the margins.

“We urge the government to finally acknowledge the gravity of the emergency we are in and prioritize the protection of our environment and the well-being of its citizens. This includes implementing robust climate change adaptation and mitigation measures, enforcing environmental laws, and supporting sustainable development initiatives,” added Bishop Alminaza.

The group also noted that the extreme heat from El Nino, the recent typhoons and Habagat, and the oil spill in Bataan and Manila Bay have led to state of calamity declarations in 618 cities and municipalities across the country, according to data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

With massive flooding in Metro Manila and many parts of the country occurring despite the reported 5,500 flood control projects accomplished ahead of SONA and a reported P556 billion budget for flood control since the administration took office, the groups said it is high time for the government to take accountability for neglecting to protect critical natural barriers against disasters.

“The sequential occurrence of the typhoon and another devastating oil spill is a literal illustration of the consequences of our government's support to the continued proliferation of fossil fuels and the climate crisis,” Krishna Ariola, Energy and Climate Campaigner at the Center for energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED) and Founding Convenor of Youth for Climate Hope.

Ariola cited that coal, oil, and gas, are destructive all throughout their life cycle - even during their transport she said.

“They are completely incompatible to a country that suffers am average of 20 typhoons a year,yet continue to be supported by national policies and development directions,"Ariola added.

With Carina and Habagat only serving as the start of the rainy season and a La Niña phenomenon expected to take off in August, ramping up comprehensive climate responses should be seriously prioritized by the government.

Based on DOST-PAGASA’s climate monitoring and analyses show further cooling of the sea surface temperatures (SSTs) across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific (CEEP).

Most climate models combined with expert judgments suggest 70% chance of La Niña forming in August-September-October (ASO) 2024 season and is likely to persist until the first quarter of 2025.

With this development, the DOST-PAGASA ENSO Alert and Warning System has been raised to La Niña Alert since middle of July.

“The Marcos administration speaks of championing climate causes, yet there remains no plan or policy direction ambitious and comprehensive enough to ensure the very survival of vulnerable Filipinos from worsening realities of the climate crisis. What it does have is a master plan for worse destruction and business as usual,” Atty. Aaron Pedrosa, Secretary General of Sanlakas said.  — (FREEMAN)