Philippines joins global march for climate justice

Shaira Panela

More than 2,000 Filipino climate activists staged a climate march over the weekend, just ahead of the United Nations-led climate change negotiations in Paris, calling for a strong and fair international agreement that sets to limit temperature rise below 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius.

Coming from the different arteries of the Elliptical Road in Quezon City, climate marchers carried banners and streamers of various colors and sizes and chanted “climate justice now.” The march is part of the global climate march being held in other countries.

“The ‘March for Climate Justice Pilipinas’ enjoins the tens of thousands marching to make our calls heard for an ambitious climate agreement that would keep fossil fuels in the ground, scale up the transformation of our economies towards 100% renewable energy for all, and protect vulnerable countries like the Philippines from the worsening impacts of climate change,” said Anna Abad, climate justice campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia – Philippines.

In a statement, WWF-Philippines President and CEO Jose Palma said, “We march because we do not want to live in fear of the next storm, nor the time when rising oceans will swallow up our islands. We march because we know that our collective call can convince COP-21’s leaders to do the right thing.”

“ We are marching in the Philippines because it is about our survival – thousands of Filipinos have lost their lives because of climate change,” said Lidy Nacpil, Coordinator Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development. “We are marching because of the urgency – we only have a small window of time to prevent climate chaos. We are marching to demand justice – those who were least responsible for climate change suffer its worst impacts, those who contributed the most to the problem are pledging the least of their fair share of the efforts to solve it.”

Among the themes that echoed during the protest are energy transformation; right to food, land and water; justice and reparations for affected peoples; protect our common home (after Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si); jobs and just transition, and youth.

Sixty other major marches among 150 countries this weekend are also part of the Global Climate March, including several activities in various cities throughout the Philippines.

After the climate marchers converged at the Quezon City Memorial Circle, a short program followed, with musical performances and speeches from representatives of different organizations.

story by: Shaira Panela

photo credit: Greenpeace