UNCeans take part in Int’l Environmental Summit 2021

JOHN DOMINIC FRANZUELA IES PARTICIPANT

SARAH CARINAN

Various UNCeans took part in the International Environmental Summit (IES) 2021 held from May 1-17 via Zoom, which was organized by the Association of Law Students of the Philippines (ALSP), in partnership with the Asian Research Institute for Environmental Law (ARIEL).

One of them was STEM 12 learner John Dominic Franzuela, who shared his insights on the significance of policies that address climate change and other environmental issues, saying that “formulating just and efficient measures and policies” should benefit everyone, from the upper class down to the marginalized people.

“It’s definitely not right and just to merely craft and pass pro-environmental policies, that, in reality, only favor the middle and upper class while the consequences are experienced by the vulnerable people such as the urban poor communities, marginalized sectors, national minorities, and indigenous people, to name a few. Not to mention that they carry the brunt of state neglect and they become the very victims when violence becomes a law,” Franzuela continued.

According to him, his desire to be more knowledgeable about all the angles that surround climate change urged him to join and participate in the virtual summit.

“For instance, the level of catastrophic risks at the status quo further justifies that we are already at the above-surface stage of the worst-case scenario that scientists and environmentalists have expected for decades. And in terms of the responses to this problem, it is worth considering that some approaches aren’t be-all and end-all or, in some cases, onesize-fits-all. I see how this event could highlight the importance of engaging in a dialogue with the vulnerable stakeholders that voice their concerns and needs amid climate change and unfair measures and resolutions,” said Franzuela.

He has also expressed interest in joining future summits for climate justice again since ‘these kinds of lectures send a powerful narrative to mainstream society that everyone can fight against climate change, regardless of our status in life, age, gender, and ethnicity, by climate justice.’

“These meaningful conversations are an efficient instrument that spread awareness and prompt musing on the specific and exact stage where we are now at the status quo and the weight of our issues. These also arm everyone to have a fair exchange of perspectives and opinions. More than that, possible proactive actions that can be taken to protect our human rights in this battle are also inculcated,” he explained.

The virtual summit aims to provide an in-depth overview of key environmental sectors, such as sustainable transportation, waste management, ocean conservation, and renewable energy, to learn policy development and environmental litigation practices, to illustrate effective strategies and approaches in furthering environmental causes, to foster a network of collaboration between law students and the environmental sector, and to provide an outline on how to create an ordinance, file, and lobby until passage.

The IES 2021 was attended by law students, lawyers, and environmental advocates from different institutions around the world.