Spanning 40 days and covering 1,000 km, participants will walk from Luneta to Tacloban, the site where supertyphoon Yolanda made landfall. They aim to arrive there on November 8, exactly one year since Yolanda hit.
According to a press release, the Walk is expected to continue even after participants reach Tacloban, onto Cebu, Negros, Panay Island, and Palawan. These provinces were also damaged during supertyphoon Yolanda. During the Walk, climate and disaster toolkits will be handed out to local government units and communities. There will also be events to highlight issues related to climate change, like mining, deforestation, and renewable energy.
“The Climate Walk is dedicated to all people in the Philippines and around the world who confront the reality of climate change. It aims to empower communities and help them become resilient to the impacts of disasters and climate change,” Climate Change Commissioner Yeb Saño said.
As stated in its official website, one of Climate Walk’s aims is to encourage world leaders to take action to deal with the issue of change by highlighting how vulnerable countries are affected by it.
In an e-mail sent to GMA News, Denise Fontanilla, Advocacy Officer at Aksyon Klima Pilipinas, said, “We also challenge the Aquino administration to walk its own climate talk. We hope that this initiative to roll out local climate plans will only be the start of concerted efforts to make local and national policies coherent, particularly in adaptation, energy, and finance.”
“This walk is about fighting back! We need to unite as a people and demand a climate treaty that will give justice and compensation to countless families, communities and municipalities that are already being severely affected and devastated by climate change impacts. We must reclaim our people’s rights to a safe, secure and sustainable future,” said Von Hernandez, Executive Director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
An international climate summit was held last September 24, where President Aquino underscored the need for international cooperation versus climate change. A conference will be held in Paris next year, where the UN hopes to negotiate a climate change agreement to cut down greenhouse gas emissions. — Bea Montenegro/TJD
Source: GMA News | 2 October 2014
