The upcoming March visit of former US Vice President and Climate Reality Project founder Al Gore should spur the government into squarely addressing numerous environmental issues facing the country, according to Rep. Martin Romualdez of Leyte.
“Mr. Gore has publicly declared many times before that Typhoon “Yolanda” taught the world about the dire climate crisis we are facing. Just last December, he met with the Filipino delegation at the UN Convention Framework on Climate Change in Paris. That’s how concerned he is with the Philippines and the environmental situation here,” said Romualdez, a member of the House special committee on climate.
Gore is visiting the country from March 14 to 16 to train a new batch of “climate reality leaders” who will be expected to educate their communities on the adverse effects of climate change and dependence on fossil fuels such as oil and coal.
Romualdez, who is running for a Senate seat in the May 2016 national elections, stressed that “rhetoric and lip service will no longer suffice” in light of studies that show that sea levels in the Philippines rise at five times the world rate and warn that storm surges could become intensify as a result of global warming.
“Al Gore is an inspiration to governments all over the world. He talks the talk, he walks the walk in his global advocacy to save the planet.”
The solon and UP-trained lawyer expressed that the environmental advocate’s visit should be a wake-up call for our own leaders, that “we need to finish the rehab work we started in Yolanda in 2013. Among many other environmental priorities, the government must draw a strategic long-term plan for the transition to clean energy.”
Romualdez’s home province of Leyte suffered the brunt of Typhoon Yolanda, which was among the strongest ever recorded storms in history. It left a trail of death and destruction, with 6,300 dead and half a million homeless. Rehabilitation work continues to this day.
“We don’t need another Yolanda to remind us of the urgent need to act. Al Gore has been posing the challenge to nations worldwide to do their share in saving the planet, both individually and collectively. Let’s heed the call and do what needs to be done, even if just in our own backyard.”