Climate activist Mitzi Jonelle Tan (left) speaks to King Charles III (right) regarding the Oriental Mindoro oil spill and other climate change issues. (Photo from Yacap)
MANILA, Philippines — During a meeting with the United Kingdom’s King Charles III, a Filipino climate activist told the king about the Oriental Mindoro oil spill, according to the Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (Yacap) on Friday.
The climate activist, Mitzi Jonelle Tan, is Yacap’s spokesperson.
“There’s an oil spill in the Philippines right now and we need help. It’s not getting any question or accountability, and really, majority of the world need climate finance and climate reparations, especially [those] battling the impacts of colonialism, making us more vulnerable to the climate crisis,” she told King Charles III.
King Charles said he has been trying to get attention to the climate change issue.
“If it’s any consolation, which it isn’t, I keep trying. I have been trying for forty years. The difficulty is to get people to listen,” said King Charles III.
Present in the encounter was the president of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier, climate activists Elizabeth Wathuti from Kenya and Licypriya Kangujam from India.
According to a statement from Yacap, there is a need for countries from the Global North to give reparations to countries like the Philippines, which are adversely affected by climate change as a result of colonialism.
“Yacap calls on those in the energy industry to transition to renewable sources of energy, and start phasing out oil- and coal-powered facilities. The group also calls on the Philippine government to act with urgency to address the long-term impacts of the oil spill and prioritize the development of the country’s science and technology so that the Filipino people can maximize and develop local renewable energy plants,” said the group in a statement.
The group also said it would hold a fact-finding mission in the affected areas of the Oriental Mindoro oil spill.
The oil spill was caused by the sinking of the MT Princess Empress on February 28 in the waters of Oriental Mindoro. It carried 800,000 liters of oil, which has since reached Batangas and Palawan.