A congress on climate change

The more thoughtful members of the international media have been devoting a great deal of attention to the issue of global warming and climate change. In the last few weeks, CNN and BBC have been airing a series of reportage and documentaries that capture the terrifying specter of global warming.

Both Time and Newsweek magazines, including the most influential newspapers in the world’s capital cities, have produced in-depth reports about the threat of our deteriorating environment. The message is powerful and alarming — that if carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases continue to pollute our atmosphere, climate change will be irreversible in 42 years or less. The destiny of the human species will be in doubt in the lifetime of our grandchildren.

Apparently, all these coverage have not yet sunk into the consciousness of our people. It could be a grand case of Nero fiddling while Rome is burning, if politicians don’t unite to have a cohesive comprehensive response program.

His Eminence, Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, in his message, said, “It is urgent that all of earth’s inhabitants respond quickly and decisively to this global problem. There must be a way to bring people to commit themselves to saving our earth. Every step, no matter how small, is necessary and can bring results.

“The Carbon Cutting Congress vs Climate Change that is being organized by the Presidential Adviser on Global Warming and Climate Change is one such welcome step. What it hopes to accomplish will be made to bear to the larger forum on Climate Change in Poland at the end of this year. It is my prayer and my hope that the Congress succeeds in crafting effective actions towards turning the tide of climate change. Our earth is the home that God our father in heaven gives us.”

The president of the prestigious Washington-based Climate Institute, Mr. John Topping, is coming to attend it, staying only 30 hours to stress the importance of this initiative, convened by the President.

Here is the ultimate global danger that dwarfs all the other problems of mankind, and it is business as usual for us. Yet one of the countries that is surely to suffer the impact of global warming is the Philippines. Former senator Heherson Alvarez, now cabinet officer in charge of global warming and climate change, reminds us that this warning was made explicit some 13 years ago by the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) conference here that produced the Manila Declaration.

Its glaring conclusion was that “Small island nations like the Philippines are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and sea level rise, with added impact on agriculture, biological diversity, peoples and cultures, so that they must be given special status because of the imminent threat of climate change.”

Well before US President-elect Barack Obama placed global warming at the top of the American agenda, President Arroyo created the Office of Presidential Adviser on Global Warming and Climate Change (OPA-GloWaCC for short).

On Thursday this week, President Arroyo will preside over a special and extraordinary conference billed as a “Carbon-Cutting Congress.” The congress, which reflects the Arroyo Administration’s program to promote a “Green Philippines,” will call for far-ranging strategies to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, to create broader use of biofuels as well as to intensify utilization of wind, solar, geothermal, and sea-tide power.

The Philippines, Sonny Alvarez insists, should go on a war footing. For if the three-mile thick ice caps in Greenland continue to melt, sea levels rise by 6 to 7 meters will submerge small islands like Guimaras and vast areas of Malabon, Navotas, and Manila.

This catastrophe will undermine our agricultural productivity and food security, even while super typhoons aggravate the living conditions in more than half of the 1,610 municipalities located along our coastlines. Climate change is a survival issue, and it is abundantly clear that this week’s carbon-cutting meeting is an urgent and remarkable step in the right direction.

The congress runs parallel to an “Exhibit of Good Practices” on November 19 at the National Library to usher in a week-long information campaign to raise awareness on climate change and programs for responsible citizen action.