Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 26) — More than three years after Supertyphoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) devastated their province, residents of Leyte on Saturday continue to call for stronger measures to combat fossil fuels and adverse effects of climate change.
In an effort to share their cause to the world, Leyte’s citizens converged at the San Juanico bridge to advocate for cleaner sources of energy. Their message: “Unite against climate change and never let anything like Haiyan (Yolanda) happen again.”
Leyte was devastated by Supertyphoon Yolanda — whose extreme intensity is often attributed to warmer global temperatures — in November 2013.
The culminating activity saw its residents calling for stronger measures to curb the ill-effects of climate change, with a banner at the San Juanico Bridge reading “#BreakFree from fossil fuels,” as Leyte cyclists crossed the bridge and a team of rowers paddled below it.
The event concluded the week-long Leyte leg of Break Free 2017, a nationwide mobilization against climate change by international environmental group Greenpeace.
It was the last in a week of workshops that saw artists, musicians, athletes, and activists from all over Leyte speak up and fight fossil fuels and activities that expedite climate change.
Break Free 2017 is the second time the Philippines has joined the global Break Free campaign against fossil fuels, after its Piglas Pilipinas! Campaign held in 2017.
In a statement issued Saturday, Desiree Llanos Dee, Climate Justice Campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia – Philippines, said the Leyte-leg of the campaign is part of the province’s efforts to rise from Yolanda and share their voices as victims of climate change.
“After more than three years, the people themselves are the ones making the effort to take back their lives and their rights. They are transforming themselves into a global voice for communities who are at the forefront of climate impacts,” she said.
This, as Greenpeace holds its global campaign to urge the government and fossil fuel companies to limit carbon emissions, which expedite climate change.
It said while big fossil fuel companies account for most of the world’s carbon footprint, vulnerable countries such as the Philippines bear the brunt of climate change’s effects.
Dee said the event should be an eye-opener to large-scale fossil fuel companies to look for cleaner sources of energy instead.
“The big fossil fuel companies should heed the people of Leyte, who are leading the call for climate justice and an end to reliance on dirty, devastating sources of energy, Llanos Dee said.
