While the Power for People Coalition agreed with President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s move in rallying nations to address climate crisis, the group called on the President to "make good" of his pronouncements in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
"In his speech before the United Nations General Assembly, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos sounded the alarm on rising global temperatures, to which the Philippines is among the world’s most vulnerable countries," Gerry Arances, the coalition's convenor, said on Wednesday, Sept. 21, following Marcos' speech at the high-level debates in New York.
"We agree with President Marcos that every nation has a part to play in addressing the climate crisis, but we cannot agree that his administration is doing its part to avert worse disasters," Arances added.
Marcos during the 77th session of the UNGA said that the Philippines accepts its share of responsibility in addressing climate change and "will continue to do our part to avert this collective disaster."
He also stressed that the country "is preparing for the future by laying the governance framework that will allow us to harness the power of renewable energy."
Arances argued that Marcos "talks of renewable energy but supports the use of more natural gas," citing his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) where the President "emphasized the importance of renewable energy, yet placed the development of the upstream and midstream natural gas, or fossil gas, industry among his legislative priorities."
The coalition also claimed that the President's talk on the importance of stewardship of waters and biodiversity "becomes no more than lip service" as his administration "allows the development and operation of fleets of new natural or fossil gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in ecologically sensitive areas in the country."
The group wants Marcos to declare his full commitment to fulfill at least the majority of the country's power needs from renewable energy by 2030, and a full energy transition towards zero net emissions by 2050.
"We call on the President to make good his pronouncements in the UN General Assembly. We ask him to declare his government’s full commitment to a Philippines that fulfills at least the majority of its power needs from renewable energy by 2030, and a full energy transition towards zero net emissions by 2050," Arances said.
"We ask him to align our nationally determined contributions toward the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement. We ask him to protect our water resources and biodiversity by keeping LNG plants, terminals, and tankers away from areas like the VIP," Arances added.
"We ask him, simply, to walk his talk," he furthered.