‘Climate walkers’ reach Tacloban on eve of Yolanda 10th anniversary
MANILA, Philippines — Climate advocates and survivors of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) arrived in Tacloban in Leyte Tuesday after a month-long journey to amplify the calls for climate action and justice.
The 1,000-kilometer journey from Kilometer Zero in Manila to the Eastern Visayas city culminated on the eve of the 10th anniversary of Yolanda, one of the world’s most devastating cyclones that left at least 6,000 people dead. More than 1,000 people listed as missing were never found.
Over 500 Yolanda survivors and local supporters welcomed the team of 28 “climate walkers” as they crossed San Juanico Bridge from Sta. Rita Junction in Samar to Tacloban City, according to Greenpeace Philippines.
“The Climate Justice Walk does not end in Tacloban. Our real destination is in people’s hearts and minds—for climate hope to take root and yield results,” said Yeb Saño, executive director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
The first climate walk took place in 2014 as a solidarity walk for the people of Tacloban who were still reeling from the devastating impacts of Yolanda a year after the onslaught of the storm. It was led by Saño, who was a climate negotiator for the Philippines at the UN Climate Conference of Parties at that time.
“Being a part of this year’s Climate Justice Walk takes me back to 10 years ago when Tacloban was in complete shambles due to Typhoon Yolanda. My brother and I were walking aimlessly, looking for food, for shelter, and for our loved ones,” said Joanna Sustento-Bacsa, a Yolanda survivor and climate activist who lost almost her entire family in the storm.
“Now, a decade later, I find myself walking again but with a whole community undertaking a meaningful journey for climate justice. I am also walking as a wife and a first-time mom. I am no longer alone in this fight,” she added.
Climate emergency declaration
The “climate walkers” traveled on foot, bike and ferry, and made 30 stops to raise awareness on climate action and climate justice.
Climate emergency was declared at two stops—Albay province and Catbalogan City in Samar. Greenpeace said that the two local governments recognized the need for urgent climate action, fossil fuel phaseout, and stronger measures on loss and damage from the climate crisis.
The walk also aims to heighten the call for accountability from the world’s biggest polluters and demand reparations for their contributions to the climate crisis.
“The people of Tacloban has yet to heal from the horrors of Yolanda because reparations became idle and there were no climate-related actions to ensure that another Yolanda will not happen again,” said Farahdiva Gamalo, the Eastern Visayas convenor of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice.
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