Time to shift to sustainable energy
The past week, Singapore’s skyline was blanketed by haze said to be the worst in 16 years. The toxic pollution which surely added tons to an already carbon overloaded atmosphere, was attributed to the forest and land fires in Sumatra Island in Indonesia. The Pollutant Standard Index rose to a record high of 401, as people scampered to get the much-needed particulate-filtering N95 respiratory masks which easily ran out of stock.
The National Environment Agency of Singapore regularly issued haze and health forecasts. I can’t help but note, a bit wistfully, that despite the enactment of the largely-unimplemented Clean Air Act way back in 1999, the Philippines still has to put in place this much-needed transparent mechanism of informing the public of the state of our air and environment since we have every right to know.
The precarious development highlights an essential fact that we tend to gloss over as we persist in the insane business-as-usual mindset: We are interconnected. But, we continue to act as if we can conquer Nature, when we very well know we cannot, and have to pay a heavy price for this. Scientists for decades warned governments that we are testing Earth’s limits by increasing our carbon emissions since humanity started filling the planet. The carbon level in our air recently breached 400 parts per million, a folly indeed that only humans are capable of making in the anthropocene era.
Burning coal is the number one driver of climate change. To the policy-makers and those who want a more visual and compelling evidence of climate change, watch the multi-awarded documentary “Chasing Ice” and be emotionally struck by the disappearing glaciers captured on camera by a team led by photographer scientist James Balog and his Extreme Ice Survey team.
Coal burning has serious environmental and health impacts,which are not added to the cost of coal. Researchers from the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago found that “The pollutants generated from coal combustion have profound effects on the health of local communities but can also travel long distances, affecting communities remote from power plants, according to the review. …Harmful air pollutants from coal combustion documented in the review include particulate matter (PM), sulfur dioxide (SO2), oxides of nitrogen (NO2), ozone, and heavy metals which can cause respiratory (lung) disease, cardiovascular (heart) disease, and affect reproductive and neurological health and reduce life expectancy.“
There is no denying the vast changes happening as a result of climate change. A recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey revealed that 85 percent of Filipinos have “personally experienced” climate change impacts the past three years. The vice chairman of the Philippine Climate Change Commission was even quoted in the news to have said, “the SWS survey tells us just how pervasive the impacts of climate change are to the lives of many Filipinos.”
If that is so, why is the commission, an independent policy making body on climate change not stepping in to stop the needless and, if I may add, heartless decision to allow the proliferation of more coal power plants in the country? Is it because the chair of the commission is the President who presumably approved these projects?
It is questionable why, despite the strong legal framework for health and environmental protection and the adoption of the Renewable Energy (RE) Law of 2008, the Aquino administration has given the go-signal for a record number of 14 committed coal power plant projects in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, and 12 more on an “indicative” status.
For as long as the coal industry flourishes, RE technology will have to take a backseat as it has so languished since the RE Law was enacted.
Every ton of carbon in the air means a greater potential for vulnerable countries like the Philippines and its people and ecosystems to suffer the consequences.
With the political will and realization that there is no other option, we should mainstream the use of renewable sources of energy as required by the RE Law.
Germany’s admirable leadership and success in shifting to renewables as the main source of energy under the Energiewende or Energy Transformation Program shows that it can be done without having to sacrifice economic growth. There is likewise growing decentralization of energy providers in Germany, a prospect we, the people should welcome.
“Across Germany, an energy revolution is underway. Dotting across the landscape are hundreds of wind rotors – but even if they look like the giant wind turbines you might see off the coast of the UK or the Netherlands, more than half of them have not been installed by the big energy incumbents. These are financed by private individuals, local energy associations or nearby communities.
“Especially in the rural areas of the southern German states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, you’ll frequently see solar panels on residential buildings, barns and converted acres of agricultural land. Almost two-thirds of them are owned by private individuals and farmers. More than one million households and small-scale investors in Germany have turned into producers of energy.” (https:// www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/blog/german-bioenergy-villages-energy-supply)
If we care for our citizens and children, we should now shift to renewables and say NO to Coal. Join the Global Action to Stop the Age of Coal on June 29. When you log on to https://www.endtheageofcoal.org/, sign the pledge to record your name and commitment, among other activities.
Let us celebrate the power of this growing movement against coal and shift to sustainable energy.
