Story: Elmer Recuerdo
Photos: Greenpeace Philippines
Photos: Greenpeace Philippines
Environmental activists composed of 12 core Climate Walkers and supporters from a diverse coalition of climate and human rights advocates began their 30-days solidarity walk in Manila on Sunday, 8 October, that will bring them to Tacloban the Ground Zero of super typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan) in time of the 10th anniversary of the devastation.
The solidarity walk, dubbed as Climate Justice Walk 2023: A People's Journey for Climate Justice, started at the Kilometer 0 in Rizal Park and is expected to arrive in Tacloban on November 8 as the city commemorates the 10th year of the typhoon that killed over 6,000 people and left millions of families homeless.
Supporting the Climate Justice Walk 2023: A People's Caravan for Climate Justice are Bikers United Movement (B.U.M.), DAKILA, FundLife, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Living Laudato Si, Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, and the different Archdioceses from Manila to Leyte.
The solidarity walk, dubbed as Climate Justice Walk 2023: A People's Journey for Climate Justice, started at the Kilometer 0 in Rizal Park and is expected to arrive in Tacloban on November 8 as the city commemorates the 10th year of the typhoon that killed over 6,000 people and left millions of families homeless.
Supporting the Climate Justice Walk 2023: A People's Caravan for Climate Justice are Bikers United Movement (B.U.M.), DAKILA, FundLife, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Living Laudato Si, Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, and the different Archdioceses from Manila to Leyte.
In a statement, the group said typhoon Yolanda is a haunting reminder of the Philippines' new normal with unabated climate change.
"Haiyan was also a wake-up call to the world, raising questions about what made this super typhoon so powerful and so deadly. From north to south, it opened the discussion on who is to blame for fueling the climate crisis and the harm it brings to low-carbon emitting countries like the Philippines," the group stated.
Naderev "Yeb" Saño, Lead Walker and Executive Director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said typhoon Yolanda has been pushed back to memory as more and more people are reeling from the climate emergency's impacts.
"The statistics for people who have lost loved ones, homes, and livelihoods as a result of climate change are continuously rising. Filipinos refuse to accept the vicious cycle of destruction and reconstruction. We also refuse to accept that we are reduced to numbers, so it is our aim to remind the whole world," Saño said.
"Haiyan was also a wake-up call to the world, raising questions about what made this super typhoon so powerful and so deadly. From north to south, it opened the discussion on who is to blame for fueling the climate crisis and the harm it brings to low-carbon emitting countries like the Philippines," the group stated.
Naderev "Yeb" Saño, Lead Walker and Executive Director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said typhoon Yolanda has been pushed back to memory as more and more people are reeling from the climate emergency's impacts.
"The statistics for people who have lost loved ones, homes, and livelihoods as a result of climate change are continuously rising. Filipinos refuse to accept the vicious cycle of destruction and reconstruction. We also refuse to accept that we are reduced to numbers, so it is our aim to remind the whole world," Saño said.
Typhoon Yolanda, the most powerful storm to hit in 2013 and one of the strongest Pacific typhoons ever recorded, left images flattened houses, toppled buildings, uprooted trees, death, and displacement in its aftermath. The total cost of damage to the Philippine economy was estimated at $12 billion.
Joshua Villalobos, DAKILA climate campaign lead, called on the Philippine government to officially declare a climate emergency.
"It's high time we hold those responsible for the climate crisis accountable and redirect our priorities towards addressing this emergency rather than funneling resources into confidential funds. We emphasize that our dire situation transcends mere environmental concerns; it is a complex socio-political issue that demands a comprehensive and swift response," he said.
Joshua Villalobos, DAKILA climate campaign lead, called on the Philippine government to officially declare a climate emergency.
"It's high time we hold those responsible for the climate crisis accountable and redirect our priorities towards addressing this emergency rather than funneling resources into confidential funds. We emphasize that our dire situation transcends mere environmental concerns; it is a complex socio-political issue that demands a comprehensive and swift response," he said.
PMCJ national coordinator Ian Rivera said the window of opportunity to save humanity from the worsening impacts of climate change is fast closing.
"There is no other solution to the crisis but governments pursuing a path to climate justice and democracy and ending inequality. Failure would mean placing the Filipino people in harm's way and perpetuating the injustice already being experienced by those who are reeling from the impacts of the climate crisis," Rivera said.
Climate and human rights activists first staged the climate walk from Manila to Tacloban in 2014 in time for the first anniversary of Typhoon Yolanda's landfall.
This year, however, the climate walkers will be walking and biking to dramatize the wave of climate litigation around the world.
"The solidarity walk aims to send a message to fossil fuel companies that it's time to face the people and pay up for loss and damage," the group stated.
The organizers said they also hope to revisit towns and communities they met during the first climate walk. "While these communities have suffered and continue suffering due to inaction by those responsible for the climate crisis, they are now rising up and telling the world their stories of strength and courage," it added. (CJ/ER)
"There is no other solution to the crisis but governments pursuing a path to climate justice and democracy and ending inequality. Failure would mean placing the Filipino people in harm's way and perpetuating the injustice already being experienced by those who are reeling from the impacts of the climate crisis," Rivera said.
Climate and human rights activists first staged the climate walk from Manila to Tacloban in 2014 in time for the first anniversary of Typhoon Yolanda's landfall.
This year, however, the climate walkers will be walking and biking to dramatize the wave of climate litigation around the world.
"The solidarity walk aims to send a message to fossil fuel companies that it's time to face the people and pay up for loss and damage," the group stated.
The organizers said they also hope to revisit towns and communities they met during the first climate walk. "While these communities have suffered and continue suffering due to inaction by those responsible for the climate crisis, they are now rising up and telling the world their stories of strength and courage," it added. (CJ/ER)
