GREEN NEW DEAL | Makabayan Bloc pushes to speed up fight against climate crisis

November 17, 2021 , 08:51 PM

By Clarist Mae Zablan, News 5 Digital

(November 17, 2021) – Left-wing lawmakers and activists on Wednesday pushed for the declaration of a “People’s Green New Deal” (PGND), an investment program seeking to speed up the transition of industries towards environmentally sustainable development, urging the lower house to pass a measure to honor the country’s commitment to reduce carbon emission.

The Makabayan bloc filed a resolution, the first of its kind in Southeast Asia and the Global South, that declared an emergency moratorium on environmentally destructive projects while fast-tracking green policy reforms. The program will also cover a “just and green” recovery program covering financial aid, renewable energy, agriculture, and national industries.

“The distinct feature of our proposed People’s Green New Deal is the establishment of climate justice mechanisms to demand just compensation over the climate debts owed to us by polluter nations and corporations,” said Bayan Muna’s Carlos Zarate, the principal author of the deal.

The proposal was patterned after a similar resolution in the US Congress, initiated by Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but failed to advance to the Senate after conservative lawmakers opposed it, saying the measure is “too impractical.”

There are other Green New Deal proposals, which emerged in other nations, including from members of the European Union and South Korea.

The Makabayan bloc’s proposal won support from the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment and economic think tank IBON Foundation.

Kalikasan’s national coordinator, Leon Dulce expressed disappointment over the Glasgow climate pact in the United Nations climate change summit, when it failed to meet the Paris Agreement goal to slow global warming well below 2 Celsius. The current global commitment can only drag down temperature rise to 2.3 Celsius.

“The PGND will potentially achieve the restoration of at least 1 million hectares of degraded ecosystems and increase renewable energy share in total installed energy capacity to up to 42% by 2030, exceeding the current lackluster climate targets of the Duterte government,” Dulce said.

IBON Foundation executive director Sonny Africa also estimated the deal will be able to create 10 million jobs and raise the income of the poorest 20% of families twofold.

“The pandemic made our social, economic and environmental crises immeasurably worse but the government can take extraordinary measures to fix these if it wanted to – the PGND is a historic step forward to making things right,” Africa said.

The government spent none of the P2.6 trillion economic stimulus last year for environmental measures, Kalikasan said.

Senator Juan Edgardo Angara has also noted that only around 5.5% of the proposed 2022 budget was set aside for fighting climate change, not enough to meet the Philippines’ commitments in the latest global climate conference.

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