By Sofia Baldonado
Due to the current international concern on climate change, climate justice activist Mitzi Tan decided to raise the main problem and demand the accountability of countries and corporations who are known as large contributors to global climate change.
At the De La Salle University– Dasmariñas (DLSU-D) Lasallian Vigilance for Environmental Development (LS VERDE)’s event on May 21 titled, “SIBOL: Healing with the Environment”, guest speaker Tan emphasized the climate injustice that is currently being experienced amidst environmental crisis.
“It takes into account the idea of common but differentiated responsibilities, it means that while we are all responsible for the climate crisis, there are individuals, certain countries, and multinational companies that are the most responsible [but] are least vulnerable,” she stressed.
The climate justice activist also mentioned that the Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world by having the highest number of extreme weather events in the past 20 years, yet it only contributes around 0.37% to the global greenhouse gas emission.
“It’s not just the extreme weather events that are making the lives of the Filipinos worse, it’s also how we are not able to adapt to it because of the lack of financial, institution, and technological capacity, and access to knowledge… usually ‘pag may bagyo o baha, ‘yung mga church o mga school [ang nagiging evacuation centers] na hindi naman [naka-disenyo] bilang climate-resilient infrastructures.” Tan explained.
She continued, “In terms of countries, the US is historically the biggest carbon dioxide emitter, and right now China is the current biggest polluter.”
Moreover, Tan also highlighted the 2021 statistics released from the Oxfam annual report where it stated that 1% of the richest produce 15% of emissions, while 50% of the poorest produce 7% of emissions.
“Recently nag-trending ‘yung #LetTheEarthBreathe, a lot of people siguro ay namulat sa nangyayari sa klima… but the response that also went trending is to delete emails, plant trees, or unplug devices which can all help on a small level but even if we all do this, it’s not going to be enough because sino ba yung pinaka-polluters? It’s the multinational companies and the 1% richest.”
As the convenor and international spokesperson of the Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP), Tan urged the youth to participate in climate-focused organizations to fulfill their environmental responsibility.
“We (YACAP) focus a lot on collective actions, and with such a big problem we need coordinated and organized actions to change society for the better. This is something we want to press on people, to empower people to go beyond themselves and to connect with our communities to have collective actions.”
She ended her statement by enumerating the activities such as organizing petitions, educational events, and other practices where students can participate to ensure the productivity of the youth initiative.
“It’s really about demanding for that systemic change because we have a systemic problem, so we need a systemic solution.”
To watch the replay of the SIBOL: Healing with the Environment event, click the link below. https://www.facebook.com/LSVERDE/videos/1159760111423782
