Most affected

In its unity statement, the PCWA noted that the impoverished populace who has no means to adapt to the environmental changes that global warming induces has suffered most.

Felina Mendres, leader of Amihan, a national peasant women’s federation, said the poor, particularly in the rural and coastal areas would be most affected by climate change. “Rising sea level, landslides, prolonged drought, and extreme weather patterns are highly felt in our communities,” she said. “We are suffering twice, we are displaced by anti-people policies and by the environmental consequences of extractive projects,” she added.

In a statement, the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP or Peasant Movement of the Philippines) said climate change affects the peasants’ source of livelihood: agriculture.

Willy Marbella, KMP deputy secretary general, said that rivers and other sources of irrigation are drying up. He said that large-scale mining results to siltation, erosion and destruction of forests.

Demands

Dr. Giovanni Tapang, chairperson of AGHAM said, “Since the Philippine Government has no concrete program to contribute to global initiatives to address the problem of climate change, the PCWA would put forward a strong demand to developed countries to reduce from 50 to 90 percent their carbon emissions in the next three decades, and for the Philippine government to develop a participatory roadmap to respond to global warming and climate change.”

Tapang further said, “We believe this is doable and justifiable to avert a global temperature rise of two degrees Celsius.”

He said that according to the scientific consensus, an increase by more than two degrees Celsius in the mean global temperature would have serious irreversible consequences leading to catastrophic events beyond any human experience.

Dr. Helen Mendoza, a climate change activist, called on the COP to establish a climate fund to ensure the judicious use of resources for people’s adaptation to climate change impacts and the installation of effective mitigation measures.

“…[I]ndustrialized nations such as the United States, European Union and Japan which are historically responsible and culpable for global warming should primarily contribute to this climate fund,” said Mendoza.

The root cause of global warming, the alliance said, is rooted in the ‘unsustainable, wasteful and profit-oriented production in the global economy.’ “Under this set up, industrialized countries and their TNCs continue to extract, produce, and consume carbon-based fuels in an unsustainable and detrimental level,” said the alliance.

The PCWA called on the Philippine government to ban commercial logging and mining activities, which destroy the country’s natural forests. It also urges the Arroyo administration to launch a massive forest rehabilitation and protection program that utilizes native forest species.

The alliance proposes that a strategic energy plan be formulated. The plan, they said, should genuinely promote and harness locally based clean energy resources with the objective of achieving energy independence and self-sufficiency. (Bulatlat.com)

 Save as PDF