CBCP joins call to cut carbon emissions

DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines – The president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is calling on parishes, Catholic schools, politicians, non-government organizations and the youth to support the resolution of the National Climate Change Commission to reduce national carbon emissions by 70 percent by 2030.

“We must all do our part in the campaign against global warming,” CBCP president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in a statement yesterday.

The call is in line with Pope Francis’ advocacy for environmental protection.

“Global warming, caused by the way we human beings use this planet, is no longer disputable,” Villegas said.

He said the threshold of disastrous warming by two degrees Celsius “shall soon be breached unless we decide to change our ways.”

While leading industrial nations like the United States and China have a bigger responsibility in cutting carbon emissions, Villegas said Filipinos should also do their part. 

He said he is looking forward to the UN Climate Change Forum in Paris from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11, noting that the objective of the summit is to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate change.

Meanwhile, Villegas joins Catholic youth groups and young environmentalists in recommending various ways to combat global warming. These include growing a tree, switching off and unplugging appliances, avoiding the use of plastic, segregating garbage, promoting renewable energy and saving water.