The Philippine Youth Delegation to the ASEAN Power Shift 2015 in Singapore: Alfhonso Jose Platero, Napoleon Paris, Erin Sinogba, Jan Michael Rase, Beatrice Adeline Chua Tulagan, Mark Conrad Ravanzo, Renee Karunungan and adviser Rodne Galicha. (Photo credit: Mark Conrad Ravanzo / The Climate Reality Project)
Anim na delegado galing sa Pilipinas ang dumalo sa ASEA Powershift Conference sa University World College of South East Asia sa bansa ng Singapore noong July 24-26. Ang nasabing conference ay dinaluhan ng hhalos 100 delagado mula sa ASEAN region. Ito ay inorganisa ng halos 350 Singapore, isang grupo ng mga taga Singapore na lumalaban sa Climate Change. Layunin ng conference na makagawa ng regional policy paper para sa klima at ito'y ipapasa sa Conference of Parties (COP21) sa Paris ngayong December.
“As one of the most vulnerable regions in the world, it is important to bring ASEAN-specific issues and corresponding commitments into light,” ayon kay Beatrice Tulagan, isa sa mga delegado ng Pilipinas at kasalukuyang Partnerships Manager ng grupong The Climate Reality Project Philippines.
“The Philippine team reiterated the human rights approach to climate change, emphasizing quite a number of times that one cannot reduce the most vulnerable communities to a lazy statistic and there is a moral imperative for the ASEAN Youth Paper to highlight this unfortunate reality,” dagdag pa ni Tulagan.
Ayon sa Climate Reality Project Philippines, ang Pilipinas ay nasa taas ng listahan ng mga bansang mas maapektuhan ng patuloy na pagbabago ng klima. Ang Pilipinas ay nakakaranas na ng mga epekto ng pagbabago ng klima katulad nalang ng kakaibang weather events, El Niño, pag-init ng mga tubig, at pagtaas ng lebel ng dagat.
Matatandaang ang Pilipinas ay dinaanan ng pinakamalakas na bagyo naitala sa buong Mundo, ang Super Typhon Haiyan, na kung saan kumitil sa halos 6,000 katao.
“After experiencing climate impacts first hand and working directly with the most vulnerable communities who have lost homes and livelihoods in the wake of natural disasters, I look forward to seeing a legally binding treaty come to be,” pahayag naman ni Erin Sinogb, isa pang delegado ng Pilipinas sa Conference.
Inaasahan naman ng grupo na ang COP21 na gaganapin sa Paris ngayong December ay magkakaroon ng magandang resulta..
Sa mga bansa sa ASEAN Region, tanging Singapore palang ang nakakapasa ng INDC commitments; habang sa Pilipinas ang INDC ay nasa consultation stage na sa tulong ng Climate Change Commision.
“We call on the Philippine government to urgently prepare an ambitious and a strong INDC and to legislate and strictly implement laws that will help our country address climate change, such as RA No. 10174 or People’s Survival Fund,” ayon kay Napoleon Paris, delegado rin ng Pilipinas.
“The youth needs to have a stronger voice in the climate talks. They will bear the brunt of climate change impacts which will be felt for years to come. Global leaders should always remember that what they will decide on in Paris will be a decision which will impact the lives of young people today and the future generation,” pahayag naman ni Rodne Galicha, isang Romblomanon, at kasalukuyang Country Manager ng The Climate Reality Project.
"We are running out of time. If we don't commit to ambitious targets this year, the damage to our planet will be irreversible. This is a question of social justice as much as it is a question of our morality," dagdag pa ni Galicha.
Ilan pa sa mga Pilipinong dumalo sa ASEAN Power Shirt ay sina Mark Conrad Ravanzo ng Metrobank Foundation, Jan Michael Rase ng The Climate Reality Project Philippines, at Alfhonso Jose Platero ng Dela Salle University.
