On Monday, 22 July 2013, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III will be delivering his annual State of the Nation Address (SONA) to an audience of almost 100 million Filipinos living all over the world.
And while he may talk about great things — we’re not expecting to hear much about his climate promises. That’s because he’s broken so many of them already..
During his campaign three years ago, President Aquino boldly declared his commitment to protect the environment and promote renewable energy sources. However, after completing half of his term, the reality does not mirror his promises.
Promises
- From his Social Contract with the Filipino People: President Aquino promised to go “from a government obsessed with exploiting the country for immediate gains to the detriment of its environment to a government that will encourage sustainable use of resources to benefit the present and future generations.” (Source)
- From a press released issued by his office on 21 April 2010: “Through strict enforcement of existing environmental laws like the Clean Air, Water, and Solid Waste Acts, coupled with sound mechanisms to ensure compliance, an Aquino administration believes that the Philippines can become more climate-change adaptive.” (Source)
- From his speech at the launch of the National Renewable Energy Program: “We want to pave the way for the maturity of our renewable energy sources such that we can provide predictable, affordable, and fair electricity pricing for each and every Filipino.” (Source)
Reality
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The Department of Energy (DOE) “has approved at least 16 coal projects nationwide…that far exceeds the aggregate number of coal projects approved by previous administrations.” (Source)
These coal-fired power plant projects were approved with the full knowledge that power generation, the majority of which comes from highly polluting energy sources including coal and petroleum, contributes 41.8% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the Philippines. (Source)
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In spite of President Aquino’s public commitment to promoting renewable energy, the DOE “has awarded 313 renewable energy service contracts but to this day, not one has been developed.” (Source)
The Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change. Three of the top 10 vulnerable Asian cities to sea-level rise are in the Philippines (Source) , and in 2011, the country had the highest mortality rates in climate-related disasters in the whole world (Source).
The Filipino people cannot wait any longer for real action to address the climate crisis. We need your help to call on President Aquino to walk the climate talk.
Here is how you can help:
- Pass this email to friends. Every voice counts!
- Follow our Facebook and Twitter pages and share our Promises vs. Reality graphic to raise awareness and our voices.
- Tell President Aquino to honor his commitment to protect the environment through the power of social media. Make sure to use the hashtags #WalkTheClimateTalkand #SONA2013. Example tweet: “@noynoyaquino, we ask you to #WalkTheClimateTalk and commit to renewable energy and protecting the environment. #SONA2013”
We invite you to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates on our campaign. Together, we can shift the power from coal to clean.
Source: Power Shift Pilipinas Team, <[email protected]>