A CALL FOR
CLIMATE JUSTICE JAYSON ANDREW M. BUNAGAN AB Communication 12
Introduction Both of my parents came from the town of Enrile in the province of Cagayan located in the northern most part of the Philippines. Our house in Cagayan is literally beside the longest river in the Philippines-- the Cagayan River. The people of Cagayan mostly rely on the river as source of water for their crops. Global warming and climate change has affected how the people live on with their lives. I have seen firsthand how global warming is affecting the river in Cagayan. Time and time again, the level of water in Cagayan is rising and the water is causing erotion to the land. This threatened the houses beside the river which is why the local government took measures to secure the residential houses.
The COP26 climate summit aims to “address” the different threats of climate change to our common home-- Earth. World leaders from different countries went to Glasgow to discuss the defining issue of our time. While COP26 parades itself as an event to address the issue, it can’t be denied that it creates a distorted truth of solving the problem while the very polluters are expressing big words such as “ambitious”, “unprecedented”, “BLAH BLAH BLAH!” We are being fooled with empty words which makes an illusion that they are taking steps to address the problem.
Climate Justice The COVID-19 pandemic proved to us that individualism can only do so much in addressing the problem. Huge companies for many years have placed the blame on us, consumers, to escape taking responsibility. It is time that we hold accountable the climate violators by imposing policies that will make sure that our natural resources is well protected. We owe it to the future generation to secure a livable world. The Greenpeace Philippines launched a signature petition campaign that would demand climate justice especially here in our country.
More than Activism More than activism, I had the opportunity to be with people who had the same passion as me in creating an impact in our communities. Just last year, we had an ideathon where we conceptualized a project that will address the platic pollution problem in Silang, Cavite. Our team, headed by me, won the ideathon. Our proposal was to give people an option by making refilleries accessible to them. Many people rersort to sachet culture because of its convinience and availability. I have learned that people are willing to take an extra mile in helping reduce our plastic waste. Access our pitch deck: https://bit.ly/Ecolliance
Why advocate? Ecology without mass struggle is just gardening. -Chico Mendes I have always been a climate advocate since I was young. It bugs me deeply how we neglect the climate crisis in the name of money, and the fairytale of eternal economic growth. Large companies and our leaders are moving forward with business as usual in the name of progress. I have a different definition of progress. Progress should be wholistic, enjoyed by the masses, and transpires to how nature react to it. It is time that we redefine progress by holding climate violators accountable. As stewards of the creation of God, it is our duty to uphold nature conservation. We are here to advocate for life, not destroy it. Lastly, I like to think that we are borrowing Earth to the future generation, and therefore it is important that we give them the same opportunity as we had living in this planet.