Addressing climate change
The failure of the global summit on climate change in Copenhagen to strike a binding deal in curbing greenhouse gas emissions should change the campaign landscape for the 2010 elections, given the fact that the Philippines has been identified as a highly vulnerable country to the effects of climate destabilization such as tropical cyclones and prolonged droughts, resulting to social and ecological devastation and economic loss.
While climate change may sound less interesting compared to regular campaign issues like how corrupt the other candidate is, questions on intellectual or residential qualifications, who has a better infrastructure proposal, and warlordism, among others, it has become a major concern considering that its effects are no longer alien to voters, especially the many who have experienced floods and other natural calamities.
Climate change is now defining how houses are to be built, how cars are to be developed and how city-regions are to be planned, and there is no question why we should not be talking about it. Candidates should disclose their thoughts about it, unless they don’t have any thoughts at all. If they don’t have a program on how to address climate change, how can we expect them to solve the food crisis due to the continuing drop in rice production, or unemployment arising from the relocation of industries to flood-free areas?
Other cities and provinces have already instituted programs to counter the impacts of climate destabilization. Some have even earned international recognition for the innovative measures and initiatives that they introduced, which highlights the kind of foresight and understanding of issues the local chief executives of these cities and provinces have, and indicative of leadership that deserves reelection.
A program was introduced in San Fernando City, Pampanga allowing tricycle operators to avail of a P9,000 loan, payable in one year, so they can purchase four-stroke engines so they can comply with the provisions of Republic Act 8749 or the Clean Air Act of 1999 which calls for the phase out of two-stroke motorcycle engines. Two-stroke engines burn less fuel and produce harmful smoke emissions. Had the city not acted to the aid of tricycle owners, the law could have never been fully implemented.
In San Carlos City in Negros Occidental, families can bury their dead in the memorial park developed by the government for the minimal fee if they can plant a tree at the Memorial Tree Park, found in another location, with seedlings provided by the City Agriculturist. After five years, the family should exhume the bones and transfer them to the foot of the tree they originally planted in the park, which would bear the nameplate of the deceased. The program has addressed the problem of lack of affordable burial sites and the need to involve the community in the fight against environmental degradation.
The same city has also convinced its constituents to pay a water levy of seventy five centavos per cubic meter of water that they consume. The water levy generates 1.2 million pesos annually, which goes to a trust fund which the city government uses in rehabilitating its denuded watershed. Started in 2005 and employing an integrated forest land use approach that determined type of reforestation and agricultural activity based on land slope, at least 250,000 trees were already planted in the watershed area, thus ensuring a stable supply of drinking water for city residents.
Other local government units have encompassing programs and policies. In Bacolod City, an ordinance was passed creating the “Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Program” which tasks the city to promote research and extension work on climate change adaptation through local research institutions, the academe and relevant stakeholders and engage in programs projects and activities particularly in land and water use change forestry, reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation, coastal zones and fisheries, farming practices, and indigenous clean energy.
Negros Oriental is also passing a similar ordinance, with suggested actions that include relocating homes from riverbanks, avoiding building highways along coastlines, contour farming, planting of bamboos along riverbanks and a vulnerability audit to come up with a list of environmentally risky activities, which would be the basis for an action agenda that would call for the inclusion of climate change measures in the provincial development and investment plans, and in the annual plans of the local government units.
As the 2010 elections draw near, it is imperative for candidates to reveal their action plan to address climate change. Iloilo is very vulnerable to the various phenomena attributed to climate change and it would be very gratifying to see those who wish to lead us outline their plans on how we can avoid the loss of lives, properties and sources of income amid this very threatening global crisis.
We can no longer wait for the next climate change summit in Mexico before we can breathe a sigh of relief seeing that something is being done so that floods and droughts would no longer exact a heavy toll on our natural environment, our economy and our well-being. We can’t leave our fate to world leaders who live very comfortably to make our sufferings their priority. Nor we can’t expect our national leadership to be more assertive in pushing for a climate change mitigation agenda when all it does is to pay lip service to the Filipino people.
There are a lot of local actions than can provide global solutions to the perils of climate change. But these local actions need to be empowered by electing leaders who have a clear view of what must be done to counter the troubles that industries in First World countries have brought upon us. We may be less responsible to climate change but we are more vulnerable to it. And such vulnerability requires us to start pushing for climate change mitigation measures right in our own doorsteps.
Nereo C. Lujan
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