By Ronald O. Reyes
Published: December 11, 2023 10:40 AM GMT
Members of Filipino faith-based groups, non-government organizations, and multi-sectoral alliances joined in a mass action for climate justice held simultaneously in 55 places across the country on Dec. 9. (Photo: Jimmy Domingo)
Organizers of street mobilizations across the nation said they aimed to pressure governments and decision-makers at COP28
The Catholic Church and local faith-based groups in the Philippines have joined global calls for climate justice and reparations as COP28 in Dubai enters crucial final days of negotiations.
Thousands of members of grassroots movements, faith-based groups, non-government organizations, and multi-sectoral alliances joined in mass actions held simultaneously in 55 places across the country on Dec. 9.
Organizers of the street mobilizations said they aim to contribute to the “chorus of global voices” putting pressure on governments and decision-makers at the COP28.
“Pope Francis in Laudate Deum eloquently reminds us that our planet is a gift, a delicate tapestry woven with the threads of biodiversity, beauty, and interconnectedness. Yet, this tapestry is being destroyed before our eyes due to the wounds inflicted by human irresponsibility,” said Pablo Virgilio David, bishop of Kalookan and president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
David urged Filipinos to join the global call for climate justice. “We are called not merely to witness but to be stewards of change,” he said in a statement.
“Let us heed the call to care for our common home, not as passive observers but as active agents of transformations. May our collective efforts echo the profound message of Laudate Deum, igniting a global movement towards ecological stewardship and justice,” he added.
The Conference of Major Superiors of the Philippines reminded that for decades, the scientific communities have been sounding the alarm.
“We are now in a climate emergency. Extreme weather events such as storms, floods, heatwaves, sea level rise, and biodiversity loss have caused untold suffering and losses of human lives and properties,” the religious group said.
In 2022 alone, tropical cyclones in the Philippines caused around 25.03 billion pesos of damages, while environmental defenders and indigenous people fighting against development aggression are subjected to persecution, harassment, red-tagged and sometimes killed, according to the group.
“We continue to long for concrete actions in the face of climate emergency. Time is running out,” it said.
The faith-based groups emphasized that the Philippine government and global leaders must be called to uphold the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement, “lest we face a more catastrophic future where tragedies even worse than Haiyan are the norm.”
Lidy Nacpil, coordinator of the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development said it is civil society’s duty “to escalate pressure to compel governments at the COP28 negotiations to take forward real solutions to the climate crisis.”
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