QUEZON CITY, (PIA) -- The Power for People Coalition (P4P) on Tuesday urged Philippine energy policymakers and authorities to heed the latest climate science findings unveiled by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and prioritize the country’s move away from coal and other fossil fuels and transition to renewables in energy planning directions and climate commitments.

Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis, provides world leaders the most up-to-date overview of the dire consequences set in motion by greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, especially the burning of carbon-intensive fossil fuels for energy.

“The IPCC’s latest report affirms something climate-vulnerable Filipinos already know: that the climate crisis is upon us. It will continue to impose suffering on communities and life systems globally. Science is clear that our reckless dependence on fossil fuels is to blame for it, and this report invalidates any remaining excuse to keep using dirty energy if we wish to avert even more unthinkable consequences,” said Gerry Arances, Convenor of P4P.

According to the IPCC, the 1.5°C temperature rise threshold, which is the more ambitious goal set by nations under the Paris Agreement and translates to the survival of more vulnerable groups and creatures than other thresholds, is already likely to be reached within the next two decades even under a very low GHG scenario. The most devastating projections from high emissions scenarios see as much as a 4-6°C rise by the end of the century.

“Developing or not, no nation in the world has any business introducing more fossil fuels into their energy mix. Our country already placed the survival of Filipinos in peril with decades of obsession with coal, and the only responsible way forward is to throw any notion of technology-neutrality into the fire. The Department of Energy, assisted by all other government bodies, must completely cancel all remaining coal in the national pipeline while keeping the rise of gas and other fossil fuels at bay,” Arances said.

The clean energy and climate justice advocacy groups also urged authorities to be guided by findings of the report in upcoming climate negotiations in November.

“Decades of unheeded warnings and climate-blind leadership brought us to this situation. The duty of holding on to development pathways least catastrophic to Filipinos is a heavy burden the Philippine government now has no choice but to carry. We need them to be bold in demanding the highest possible emissions reductions globally, and upholding climate justice by ensuring that developing nations like our are provided the means necessary to turn the swift and just transition to sustainable energy from renewables the climate crisis requires into reality,” Arances added.

"The tipping points to avoid in order to prevent catastrophic climate change have been over-emphasized by science several times, but they have been by many countries as if science is not the solution to the climate crisis. The 6th IPCC Assessment Report is catastrophic to all the governments of the world since it is a flipside of what is now the failures of political leaders to challenge head-on the single biggest challenge of humanity. It is now incumbent among the people to move, topple, and change governments, since this system is obviously not working," said Ian Rivera, National Coordinator of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ).

P4P hopes that these challenges will be heeded with haste.

“As the severity of the climate situation dawns upon us once more, we may find ourselves disheartened - perhaps even in fear of what the future holds especially for the young and for those yet to be born. But it is precisely this that should get us on our feet. Never has it been more urgent for us to unite in action for the healing of our Common Home,” said Bishop Colin Bagaforo, chairperson of Caritas Philippines. (PIA-NCR)