The Philippines has been hit by four tropical cyclones in a span of three weeks. Communities are still suffering from loss of homes, livelihoods and lives, amidst the pandemic. This is the terrible reality our country is facing as it lies in the world’s most cyclone-prone area, averaging 20 tropical cyclones each year crossing the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), with about 8 or 9 landfalls [1].
As observed, for the past years tropical cyclones in the country are becoming more extreme and increasing in frequency. This could be due to rising sea surface temperature of 0.6°–1°C since the 1970sand rising of sea level faster than the global average as a result of climate change. However, climate change may not directly cause a particular storm, but changes mentioned can worsen its impact and hazard posed threatening permanent inundation of communities ill equipped to handle this kind of situation. [2]
The marginalized, many of whom live in temporary shelters and low-lying areas, are most at risk, lacking the resources to prevent the threat of coastal inundation and storm surge. These concerns are not new to us, yet our government has failed to prepare for the effects of the typhoon, choosing to cancel Project NOAH, defund the budget for calamity funds, and encourage deforestation, mining, and commercialization. Not to mention, Duterte has still no concrete plans for environmental protection after his promise at his first SONA that climate change is his priority. The killing of environmental defenders,logging, and full foreign ownership of large scale mining and geothermal exploration operations persist, destroying our environment and allowing us to bear the brunt of the effects of climate change.
Properties submerged in flood, power outages, and food and water scarcity, are just manifestations of government incompetence and negligence towards the effects of climate change. We should DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY from our government officials in failing to respond in times of calamities urgently and adequately.We must DEMAND CLIMATE ACTION NOW! We should demand our government to declare a climate emergency to take urgent action to solve the climate crisis and hold them liable along with big corporations.
We demand a system change!
#ClimateActionNow #SystemChangeNotClimateChange #WeDemandAccountability
Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines 