Groups to urge world governments to act on climate change issue

MANILA, Philippines - Various groups, including religious-based organizations, will hold a series of activities to urge the governments of the world, including the Philippines, to commit to take action to deal with climate change issues.

Now is the time for the administration to make true its commitment to reduce emissions, shift to renewable energy, prioritize adaptation measures and address the loss and damage brought about by climate change, the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ) said in a statement.

They want the government of the Philippines and governments from other parts of the world to contribute to lowering global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

On Oct. 10, National Day of Action Against Dirty and Harmful Energy, climate justice advocates and coal project resisters will once again mobilize in the thousands from 30 different coal-affected sites across the country for the nationally coordinated Day of Action Against Coal and Dirty Energy.

This is also the movement’s contribution to the global mobilization across the globe dubbed as Reclaim Power, which calls for the outright rejection of dirty and harmful energies for the people, the environment, the climate and the planet.

Lidy Nacpil, PMCJ national convenor and co-coordinator of the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice, which leads the global Reclaim Power initiative, said that “the fossil fuel industry and its phase-out is at the heart of the whole climate crisis solution.”

This initiative, which she said includes many elements like the divestment campaign, aims to educate the general public and mobilize people to reclaim power away from the fossil fuel industry and their allies in governments “to defend our rights and for the sake of the next generations and the planet.”

The PMCJ consists of 110 grassroots organizations from different sectors across the country, alongside renewable energy advocates from Power for People Network (P4P) and religious organizations from the Ecological Justice Interfaith Movement (ECOJIM).