By Perfecto T. Raymundo, Jr.
QUEZON CITY — Philippine civil society organizations are revving up for the Global Day of Action for Climate Change on Saturday (Dec. 9).
The event will coincide with the final leg of the 2023 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change \(UNFCCC) or the 28th Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC, more commonly known as COP28, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The COP28 is expected to deliver clear agreements on the phase out of fossil fuel, targets for the acceleration of renewable energy development, just transition programs, and the scaling up of climate change finance delivery, including pledges for the “Loss and Damage Fund”.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. has called on world leaders to support the country’s bid to host the “Loss and Damage Fund” as he sought the prompt operationalization of the program to support developing and vulnerable countries from the effects of the climate crisis.
In a press conference in Muang Thai Restaurant in Diliman, Quezon City on Thursday (Dec. 7), Lidy Nacpil, coordinator of Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), said that civil society “must escalate pressure to compel governments at the COP28 negotiations to take forward real solutions to the climate crisis.”
“Governments have been failing to fulfill their duties to take urgent action to solve one of the greatest crises threatening the survival of people and communities all over the world,” Nacpil added.
“We are especially demanding the governments of the world’s wealthiest countries – the Global North – who have contributed the most to the problem of climate change to stop evading their responsibilities,” Nacpil said.
Among others, the APMDD-led demonstrations will be joined by the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), Ecological Justice Interfaith Movement (ECOJIM), Oriang Women’s Movement, Sanlakas, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), Laudato Si Movement Pilipinas, Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP), Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), K4K, Zone One Tondo Organization (ZOTO), Aniban ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (AMA), Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA), Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC), PS Link, 350.Org, Youth Advocates for Climate Action-Philippines (YACAP), Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (SPARK), Save Philippines (SAVE PH), Philippine Misereor Partnership, Inc. (PMPI), and National Congress of Labor.
