Different kind of penitence: Fast for Earth

Climate Change Commissioner Heherson Alvarez: Fast for Mother Earth

MANILA, Philippines—Climate Change Commissioner Heherson Alvarez has called for a “different kind of penitence” on Holy Week.

In a statement, a copy of which he sent to the Inquirer, the former senator and energy secretary said that “as we atone for our sins during Holy Week, it may also be relevant that we fast for Mother Earth and curb carbon emissions.”

“A withdrawal from our wasteful consumption habits and a cutback of a meal a day, among other things, will provide some relief to our beleaguered environment,” he said.

Alvarez, also the founding chair of the nongovernment group Earthsavers Movement, said it would also “drive home the point that the solution to the extreme consequences of climate change would be the disciplined use of energy like electricity and vehicle fuel, the reduction of water and food wastage, and the promotion of alternative clean energy.”

“We must cut back on our use of water, food, forest and other dwindling resources for the meaningful celebration not only of Lent but also World Water Day on April 22,” he said.

He said that the Filipinos’ “selfless penitence will show that addressing climate change, a man-made disaster, will require our collective efforts.”

Grave responsibility

According to Alvarez, his group has been been “making this appeal every year to remind the public of its grave responsibilities of protecting Mother Earth and helping mitigate carbon emissions.”

“This kind of penitence is more significant this year,” he said, citing the latest report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which warned that “soaring carbon emissions will amplify the risks of conflict, hunger, floods and other natural disasters, as well as mass migration.”

The report, released in Yokohama, Japan, last week, said that “the impact would increase with every additional degree of temperature rise.”

The IPCC report said: “Things are worse than we had predicted. High levels of warming will result in magnified drought risks, which will add to water stress and will in turn have serious consequences for agriculture, including staples such as rice, wheat and corn.”

“If the world does not cut pollution of heat-trapping gases, the already noticeable harms of global warming could spiral out of control,” the report added.

Climate change, which adversely affects global temperatures, is caused primarily by the warming of the earth due to carbon dioxide emissions with the extensive use of fossil fuels, such as gasoline, coal and iron, according to the IPCC.