Climate Promises or Empty Echoes?
A Reaction to President Marcos Jr.’s 3rd SONA
In the vivid theater of Philippine politics, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) offered a spectacle of promises and ambitions, yet beneath the surface lay a dissonance between aspiration and action. As we reflect on his address, it is impossible to ignore the chasm between the rhetoric of climate urgency and the concrete steps required to truly confront our environmental crises.
The words spoken are important, but they are mere echoes if not followed by substantive action.
A government’s dedication to climate action is ostensibly demonstrated through its energy policies. Marcos Jr.’s speech presented a promising façade, but it was clear that the real substance lies in the implementation of these policies. While there have been significant gains in reforming the energy landscape, the true test remains in aligning these reforms with the relentless demands of scientific reality and the principles of climate justice.
Loss and Damage: holding the Philippines’ climate finance to account
As the Philippines takes on the role of host for the United Nations’ Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FLD), we face a critical shift in climate finance. This leadership opportunity is not just symbolic; it underscores the nation’s frontline position in the climate crisis, battered by extreme weather and disasters. The challenge is to move beyond a reactive disaster response, ensuring the fund fosters long-term resilience rather than short-term fixes. The FLD must evolve to address both immediate impacts and slow-onset threats, with clear mechanisms for attribution and valuation.
Similarly, the People’s Survival Fund (PSF) must remain a priority, not relegated to the sidelines. Its replenishment, notably absent from this year’s SONA, is crucial for empowering local governments and communities with the financial support needed for adaptation projects. A robust national budget should go beyond nominal climate tagging to be genuinely climate-resilient, with funds also directed to local academic institutions studying slow-onset events.
For climate finance to drive real adaptation, it must be transparent, focused on those most in need, and forge pathways to enduring resilience. Local voices should guide decisions, and strong oversight is essential to prevent promises from turning into rhetoric. Holding our government accountable is as crucial as demanding action from the Global North. We must ensure that every cent is spent wisely, addressing systemic inequities and turning the fund into a genuine tool for transformation.
350 Pilipinas joins thousands of people in solidarity of the Peoples’ SONA 2024 to implement policies prioritizing people and the planet over profit, calling the administration to update and fully implement air quality standards to better protect public health. Photo: Nadia Cruz
Energy transformation: a vision yet to be realized
The Philippine Energy Plan sets ambitious goals: over 40% renewable energy by 2030 and nearly 57% by 2040, aiming to transform energy infrastructure through investments in solar, wind, and hydroelectric projects.
While advancements in national energy infrastructure, such as improved transmission lines, mark the start of this journey, the plan’s robustness in meeting these targets must be scrutinized.
Confronting the nation’s deep-seated coal dependency and the administration’s flirtations with fossil gas and nuclear power is essential for true progress. This requires not just eliminating coal subsidies but reimagining the energy landscape to address market inequities and harness the nation’s potential in renewable sources of energy.
The shift must focus on integrating support for vulnerable communities, phasing out fossil fuels, and evolving the grid into a more adaptive and decentralized network that aligns with Filipinos’ diverse needs.
This transformation is not merely about infrastructure but about embedding resilience and equity into the country’s energy framework.
Ensuring that laws work for present and future Philippine realities
Through years of dedicated effort by civil society and impacted communities, environmental and climate legislation has seen significant progress. Yet, the journey is far from complete. The laws we have must be meticulously refined to truly serve the Filipino people. This means creating a framework that not only addresses ecological needs but also fosters economic resilience. In recognizing the intertwined realities of our current era, we must ensure our collective capacity to thrive—both environmentally and economically—by making these hard-won gains work more effectively for everyone. The Clean Air Act and the Green Energy Option Program (GEOP) are pivotal in our climate strategy, but they are in dire need of updates.
The Clean Air Act of 1999
Air pollution in the Philippines is an urgent challenge. As the WHO notes, nearly everyone worldwide breathes polluted air, and in the Philippines, fossil fuel-powered transportation is a major culprit. This pollution is deeply intertwined with climate change, creating a web of environmental and health issues. The Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999, a comprehensive policy lobbied for by CSOs and environmentalists, sought to protect air quality.
On its 25th anniversary, we must reassert clean air as a fundamental right and push for updates aligning with WHO standards. This involves investing in public air monitoring, advocating for active transportation, and ensuring rigorous implementation of the guidelines. Through these efforts, we honor the Act’s legacy and build a healthier future for all Filipinos.
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Air is closely linked to our daily lives; without air, we simply cannot live. Facing the impacts of air pollution, we quickly contract respiratory diseases, while it drastically accelerates the climate crisis. According to studies, respiratory diseases are worsening, and the most vulnerable to these illnesses are the commuting public, workers, students, and ordinary people who use public transport.
Cleaner Air for us all
The Green Energy Option Program
Similarly, the GEOP, which is designed to allow bulk consumers to choose renewable energy, struggles with significant barriers: lack of consumer awareness, bureaucratic delays, and insufficient infrastructure.
As a provision of the Renewable Energy Law of 2008, it aims to help businesses consuming over 100kWh (or spending over 200k Php) reduce energy costs by switching to renewable sources through their power utilities.
Overcome these challenges, entails a resolve to streamline regulatory processes, bolster infrastructure, and provide substantial financial incentives, creating a more accessible path to sustainable energy.
Ensuring people-centered transportation systems
In his SONA speech, Marcos Jr. outlined a hopeful future for transportation with promises of modernizing infrastructure, including expanding the MRT and LRT systems, building new expressways, and upgrading rural roads. This vision aims to enhance connectivity, ease traffic congestion, and stimulate economic growth.
However, there are significant criticisms. The policy’s heavy focus on road expansions could overshadow the critical need to improve public transit systems, potentially worsening traffic and pollution. Additionally, this infrastructure-centric approach may neglect important issues like transportation safety, maintenance of existing roads, and the integration of diverse transport modes.
A genuinely modernized transport system requires more than superficial upgrades. It must enhance urban mobility conditions with safer, cleaner, and more efficient options, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and address carbon emissions. It should also protect the rights and well-being of transport workers and commuters, balancing climate action with the practical needs of those maintaining our transport networks.
From Rhetoric to Reality: demanding climate accountability and action now
In the fight against climate change, local solutions and grassroots involvement are indispensable.
We must invest in community-led initiatives and empower the youth and the communities we serve with knowledge and tools to drive change. Regular teach-ins that communicate the climate crisis in their respective contexts can serve as a platform for educating and mobilizing young people, ensuring that they are equipped to lead the charge towards a sustainable future.
350 National Coordinator and volunteer calls for clean energy. Climate actions must be geared towards building a decarbonized society, where communities owned and lead energy solutions while harnessing a clean renewable energy sources. [Photo: Nadia Cruz]
President Marcos Jr. ‘s SONA could be seen as a moment of promise, but promises alone do not stem the rising tide of the climate crisis. We must challenge the entrenched belief that economic development is inextricably linked to fossil fuels and instead demonstrate that a low-carbon future is both necessary and achievable.
It is not enough to set targets; we must ensure robust community ownership of solutions, making sustainability and prosperity not just ideals but lived realities.
Marcos Jr.’s speech should be viewed as just the beginning, not the end. As climate activists, our job is to ensure that these words translate into real action. We must stay vigilant, pushing the government to fulfill its promises and move towards a low-carbon, climate-resilient future.
Though it rained hard, we didn’t let it stop us. In fact, we were even more empowered to keep fighting for what we advocate. Rain and storms are nothing to people who fight for what they want.
Fighting for What We Deserve
The power to shape our collective future lies not only in the hands of policymakers but in the hands of those who dare to dream and act boldly to build a future forged in action, justice, and relentless commitment to people and our planet.