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URBAN FARMER | BY JULIO P. YAP JR.
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Monday, April 3, 2017
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THE Break Free 2017 initiative culminated with the recent staging of the Renewable Energy Fair and Concert at the Quezon Memorial Circle following a string of protests and activities led by communities calling for a coal-free Philippines, and signifying solidarity with the global movement to Break Free from fossil fuels.
The concert was headlined by Itchyworms, Tanya Markova, Flying Ipis, Bayang Barrios and the Naliyagan Band, Kokoi Baldo and Juan Gapang, and many more.
“Impacted communities are taking back their lives, livelihoods and rights. We can’t sit back and accept that these threats from climate change are the new normal. We’re seeing that people who are facing climate impacts are turning to music, arts, sports and culture not only to help deal with what they are going through, but to amplify the call for climate justice as well. This is what the Break Free Fair is all about,” said Deng Garcia, vocalist of local band Flying Ipis.
On the other hand, Reuben Muni, Climate and Energy Campaigner of Greenpeace Philippines said that the global wave of actions against dirty and harmful energy through the Break Free from Fossil Fuels campaign is an indication that citizen action is very much alive and kicking, an inexhaustible source of energy and inspiration for all.
During the last three weeks, disaster survivors, frontline communities, indigenous peoples, farmers, youth, women, and civil society groups in Bataan, Cebu, Leyte, and other parts of the country, carried out various protest activities to join the second global wave of actions to Break Free from fossil fuels.
Despite decades of public calls for urgent measures to tackle climate change and a global climate agreement, global temperatures, the strength and frequency of extreme weather events, and the number of people impacted all continue to increase.
Most of the companies responsible for the lion’s share of industrial greenhouse gas emissions have chosen not to curb their emissions despite having the knowledge and capability to do so.
The Green Thumb Coalition, a wide coalition of NGOs working on environment and sustainable development, is urging the Duterte government to implement policies and programs to support our signing of the Paris agreement.
This includes, among many others, breaking free from coal and immediately transitioning to renewables.
While environmental activists welcome President Duterte’s ratification of the Paris Agreement, they are still dismayed by the administration’s lack of concrete action in facilitating the just transition to renewable energy.
The movement wants to push the fossil fuel industry, which controls the economy, politics, and people’s lives in favor of profits, towards taking responsibility for climate impacts and changing their business practices, including a shift to renewable energy and away from dirty, devastating fuel sources.
The Break Free 2017 initiative in the Philippines is composed of Greenpeace, Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, WWF, Freedom from Debt Coalition, Sanlakas, 350.org, Climate Reality Project PH, Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development, Dakila, Coal-Free Bataan Movement, Pusyon Kaiyahan, Kaabag sa Sugbo Foundation, SEED4COM, Environmental Legal Assistance Center, and Green Thumb Coalition. (jaypeeyap@ymail.com/PN)
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