Some time between the start of the climate change debate in the late 19th century (yes, that long ago) to the time tree-hugging hippies began talking about peace, love, rock and roll, and global warming in the 1960s and 70s up until the present day, it happened.
The world’s climate changed.
Skeptics may hoot and holler till the methane-producing cows come home, but there is no denying that climate change is now very much a part of everyday reality. What was once referred to as a looming disaster is right here, right now, and the extreme weather events that come along with it—which now occur with greater frequency in the Philippines and around the world—are a testament to this fact.
The Philippines is a climate hotspot, prompting the United Nations to declare us a “nation at risk” and ranking us the third most vulnerable country in the world.
Our weather patterns have been altered drastically by climate change, so much so that even areas in our tropical archipelago that do not normally experience extreme weather conditions are now seemingly at the mercy of the elements.
Strong typhoons and heavy precipitation have not only increased in frequency but also in severity. To this very day, communities are still reeling from the devastation wrought by past typhoons that have gone on to become household names. For indeed, the likes of Ondoy, Pepeng, Sendong, Pablo, Lando, and of course Yolanda have as much name recall as Aldub or Kathniel.
However, while devastating floods and storms have been known to dominate the headlines, climate change is more than just about the over-abundance of water. Water scarcity in the form of prolonged and frequent droughts, while less noticeable and newsworthy, are no less destructive to life, livelihoods, and even our food supply. This kind of climate change, compounded by this year’s El Niño, is exactly the situation we are facing today and in the months ahead.
Climate Crisis
Climate change is a worldwide crisis that brings with it a host of complications that endanger our planet’s fragile ecosystems, from our oceans to our forests to our deserts to the freezing tundras. According to WWF, “Sea levels are rising and oceans are becoming warmer. Longer, more intense droughts threaten crops, wildlife and freshwater supplies. From polar bears in the Arctic to marine turtles off the coast of Africa, our planet’s diversity of life is at risk from the changing climate.”
Yet beyond its impacts on the environment, climate change is also a humanitarian crisis. The toll exacted by increasingly frequent extreme weather events are often summed up in terms of human lives, property damage, and hard currency. The pitiful conditions they leave behind are the perfect breeding ground for displacement, lawlessness and human rights abuses.
In his impassioned plea during the 2013 UN Climate Summit in Warsaw following the onslaught of Yolanda, Naderev “Yeb” Saño, former Climate Change Commissioner for the Philippines and now Executive Director for Greenpeace Southeast Asia said, “I speak for the countless people who will no longer be able to speak for themselves after perishing from the storm. I also speak for those who have been orphaned by this tragedy. I also speak for the people now racing against time to save survivors and alleviate the suffering of the people affected by the disaster…What my country is going through as a result of this extreme climate event is madness. The climate crisis is madness…We can stop this madness.”
Stopping the Madness
Many environmentalists around the world agree that the key to stopping climate change from escalating is by embracing renewable sources of energy and reducing the world’s carbon emissions.
Easier said than done—especially considering that the major economies of the world are largely dominated by powerful, centuries-old oil and coal interests—but it makes perfect sense. As former Greenpeace International Executive Director Kumi Naidoo once said, “For those who believe that God exists, (do you think God said), ‘Oh, these people are going to need energy, so let me take the coal, put it deep in the ground, take the oil, put it deep in the ocean, and so on, so people will kill themselves trying to get to it and destroy things that actually humanity needs for its existence?’…Folks, you all have been looking primarily in the wrong direction. Rather than looking down for oil, coal and gas, you should look up and see that God gave you wind and sun to actually meet your needs.”
Fortunately, the Philippines is not just a climate hotspot, it is also a hotspot for harnessing renewable energy. As a tropical archipelago situated in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines is blessed with plenty of sunshine, water, air, and even heat from the very Earth to generate sustainable sources for solar, hydro, wind, and geothermal power.
Driving the Change
In their report Green is Gold, Greenpeace Southeast Asia asserts that renewable energy has the technological potential to contribute more than 50% of the country’s energy by 2020 from Geothermal (28.90%), Hydro (22.97%), Wind and Solar (2.90%), and Biomass (.73%)
Despite their modest uptake in the model cited above, wind and solar power are two of the most well-received sources of renewable energy. Wind power is gaining more acceptance, especially with the completion of Southeast Asia’s largest individual wind project in 2014 and the second largest in the world. Meanwhile, with swift advancements in solar technology and the continuous drop in prices of panels and related implements, solar power is becoming more and more accessible to the average home owner.
The Green is Gold report, subtitled How Renewable Energy Can Save Us Money and Generate Jobs, also outlines how growing the renewable energy sector makes perfect business sense. The report states that “(investing) in renewable energy can 1) generate tens of thousands of jobs, 2) save the government money in terms of tax revenue and foreign exchange savings, 3) boost economic growth especially in vulnerable areas suffering from energy poverty, 4) lower the cost of renewable energy for the long run by impacting the spot market, and 5) save customers’ money.
Sounds like a win-win, doesn’t it? Yet this solution is only possible if there is sufficient government support and political will to steer the country in the right direction and there is enough people power to drive the change.
That climate change can be reversed is still up for debate. Yet experts agree that weaning the world from its dependence on fossil fuels can prevent it from worsening. This means that a future free from the destructive effects of further climate change is possible, but only if the dream of an energy-secure planet is realized first.