Environmental groups nanawagan sa paggamit ng cleaner renewable energy

MANILA, Philippines – Upang protektahan ang kapaligiran, iginiit ng iba’t ibang environmental groups sa Asian Development Bank at sa pamahalaan na tuwirang tuparin ang climate obligation nito para maingatan ang mamamayan, at kapaligiran sa epekto ng fossil fuels sa bansa.

Sa ginanap na media briefing sa Quezon City, binigyang diin ng Civil Society Group sa ADB at sa gobyerno na panahon na para itigil ang paggamit at mga planong pagsusulong ng fossil fuels ng bansa at gumamit na lamang ang mga renewable at cleaner energy na hindi makakasama sa kapaligiran at kalusugan ng mga tao.

Sinabi  ni Maya Quirino, Advocacy Coordinator ng Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center ng Alyansa Tigil Mina na dapat itigil na ang pagmimina lalo’t hindi ito sinusuportahan ng komunidad.

Ayon naman kay Paolo Pagaduan ng Asian People’s Movement in Debt and Development na dapat sa taong 2035 ay ihinto na ang paggamit ng coal at sa taong 2050 ay wala nang gumagamit ng fossil fuel sa bansa upang hindi na magpatuloy pa ang matinding pag-init ng klima.

Sinabi pa ng environmental group na dapat din aniyang ihinto ng ADB ang pagpopondo sa mga fossil fuel upang maiwasan ang matinding epekto ng Climate Change at pag-init ng mundo.

Kaugnay nito, sinabi naman ni Avril de Torres ng Center for Energy, Ecology and Development na dapat ding iwasan ng ADB ang pagsusulong ng false solution tulad ng fossil fuel na may negatibong epekto sa komunidad.

“Ang patuloy na paggamit ng fossil fuel ay lubhang nakapipinsala ng ating kapaligiran,” ani De Torres.

Kaugnay nito, sa isang press release na inilabas ng grupo kasabay ng Asian Clean Energy 2024 ng ADB, sinabi ni Rayyan Hassan, Executive Director ng NGO Forum on ADB na dapat panagutin ang ADB at iba pang global financial institutions para sa “historical and ongoing environmental and social harms.”

“Forum network and allies call for an overhaul of the key policy initiatives discussed at ACEF 2024. With the upcoming Mid Term Energy Policy Review of the ADB, the NGO Forum on ADB and its allies call for an end to ADBs false solutions towards Just Transition and demand a full phase out from fossil fuels especially gas and all forms of financing for coal,” pagpapatuloy pa ni Hassan.

“We call on ACEF delegates to push for the implementation of policies for rapid, equitable, and just transition to 100% renewable sources of power by 2050 and do away with false solutions and technologies,” giit naman ni Lidy Nacpil, Coordinator, ng APMDD.

“Fossil fuel corporations and other ACEF participants are still putting false solutions on the table, such as hydrogen, carbon capture utilization and storage, ammonia, and promoting gas as a transition fuel. These are dirty sources of energy that only serve to entrench fossil fuels and continue to profit from them, ultimately delaying the clean energy transition,” dagdag pa niya.

Ang presscon ay isinagawa ng NGO Forum on ADB, Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), Center for Energy, Ecology and Development (CEED), Coalition for Human Rights in Development (CHRD), EcoWaste Coalition, Freedom from Debt Coalition, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC-KSK), Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development, Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), Recourse, 350.org, kasama ang iba pang organisasyon ng Philippine Working Group. Santi Celario