Filipino youth group to join Global Climate Strike

MANILA, Philippines – Members of youth group SAVE Philippines would hold a Global Climate Strike on Friday — similar to Swedish activist Greta Thunberg’s act — to protest the continuous destruction of the environment and to call for ecological restoration.

According to SAVE Philippines, the focus of the protest — which will start with a march to Luneta Park on 1:00 p.m. — is on stopping the use of coal and fossil fuel as main sources of energy, and the request to respect the rights of people and the environment.

“The Manila leg of the Global Climate Strike is part of a global effort to call on governments before the 25th Conference of Parties, an international climate negotiations to be held in Madrid, Spain, to declare a ‘climate emergency’ in order to make deep and drastic cuts on their emissions of greenhouse gasses and ensure adequate funding for adaptation efforts of vulnerable nations and communities,” the group said in a statement on Thursday.

“SAVE Philippines will join civil society groups Asian People’s Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD) and Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ) and other peoples organizations,” they added.

Aside from the above-mentioned demands, SAVE Philippines also seeks to address the root cause of poverty and the impact of climate change, empower the communities to deal with these problems, and to urge for the financing of climate change solutions.

SAVE Philippines said Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, Bishop Broderick Pabillo, climate activist Lidy Nacpil, and artists Cooky Chua, Noel Cabangon would also attend the event, which will last until 6:00 p.m.

The 16-year-old Thunberg, who started the campaign in her hometown, drew wide acclaim after an empowering speech where she addressed high-ranking officials present in a United Nations meeting.

She demanded accountability from the officials — especially those in the first-world countries — and urged them to discuss matters beyond money and economic growth.

The Philippines has always been one of the most vulnerable countries in terms of natural disasters — it serves as a passageway for typhoons from the Pacific Ocean, while sitting at the Pacific ring of fire.

However, those natural problems are being amplified by climate change, with several studies saying that the country is consistently threatened by rising sea levels — a phenomenon attributed to warming temperatures, which is supposedly caused by climate change.

READ: Philippines among countries most threatened by rising seas, says new study

READ: PH warned anew of climate impact

READ: Greta Thunberg gives a powerful speech to address UN world leaders: ‘How dare you?’