Use bicycles to fight climate change, Pinoys urged

MANILA, Philippines — To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Filipinos are encouraged to use bicycles as an alternative mode of transportation, an official of the Climate Change Commission (CCC) said.

CCC Commissioner Albert dela Cruz noted that motorized transportation is a major factor in the aggravating impact of climate change.

Apart from bicycles, the official also backed the shift to electric vehicles to hasten the country’s efforts toward decarbonization.

Dela Cruz said President Marcos during his term as senator filed Senate Bill 2924, or the proposed Bicycle Commuters Incentives Act of 2011, which seeks to grant incentives to promote the use of bicycles and other safe and viable non-motorized transport vehicles as a mode of daily commuting and travel.

“It must be noted that studies have consistently shown that bicycle use has wide-reaching benefits, from environmental and urban planning to public health,” Dela Cruz noted.

“Furthermore, bicycle-users would also enjoy savings on transportation cost, in view of the lessened dependence on motorized transport system, which is admittedly more expensive due to the current fluctuations in the prices of gasoline and diesel fuel,” he added.

Early this year, the Department of Transportation announced its plan to improve walkways and bicycle lanes across Metro Manila.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, for its part, had said it plans to build elevated bicycle lanes along EDSA to promote urban bike tourism in the National Capital Region.

Climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts remain on top of the administration’s priorities, according to Marcos.

“We are also very conscious of our situation in the Philippines wherein we are very sensitive to climate change,” the President said in his speech in Agusan del Norte on July 12.