Legarda calls for talks to effectively combat climate change

SENATOR Loren Legarda on Wednesday called for the convening of a “Summit of Consciences” in the Philippines to address climate change and its threats as she warned that “inaction and apathy will spell death and loss.”

Legarda made the call after attending the Summit of the Consciences for the Climate held in Paris last July 21 where the “Call to Consciences for the Climate” was launched.

The summit, she said, was a prelude to the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 21), which will also be hosted by the French government in December this year.

Legarda reported the outcome of the summit in a privilege speech at the Senate.

During the summit, she said, the participants agreed on common messages:

First, that climate change is one of the greatest challenges, if not the greatest, humanity is facing today.

Second, in order to effectively combat climate change, we need to progressively decrease our dependence on fossil fuels, especially coal, and shift to renewable energy.

Finally, no effort will be successful unless all of us work together, not just governments, but also businesses, civil society and every individual in this planet.

She said she was also able to share during the summit that the Philippines is only a 0.3 percent emitter of carbon in the world and “yet we are one of the most vulnerable nations affected by the extreme weather events caused by the changing climate.”

“Being a vulnerable nation that has done the least to cause this vulnerability, we hope that the Philippines will be the first to show a positive outcome of the said Summit. With that I declared my commitment to convince the President to convene a Summit of Consciences in the Philippines,” said the senator.

“I hope we could all ask ourselves, ‘Why do I care?’ so that we can dig deeper into our mind, heart and conscience. Because until we have taken it upon ourselves that the key to addressing climate change and its threats lies in each and every person’s effort to be part of the solution, then the greatest challenge we will have to fight is our own apathy and our own indifference,” she said.

Legarda said climate change goes beyond science, beyond politics, beyond territorial boundaries.

“Inaction and apathy will spell death and loss. The state of our environment is precarious and we need a call of conscience,” she said.

“But while climate change is a complex challenge, it is not impossible to address. The solution can be found in each one of us. All we need is to be responsible and to take urgent action,” she further said.