Greenpeace urges Duterte to declare climate emergency after Tisoy

Environmental group Greenpeace Philippines urged President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday to declare a climate emergency after several Filipinos were forced to flee from their homes due to Typhoon Tisoy.

In an open letter, the organization called on Duterte to declare a climate emergency through an executive order which will ensure that the government will prioritize the impact of climate change on the lives of FIlipinos.

Greenpeace Philippines also highlighted the country's vulnerability to severe weather and its impacts, saying that Filipinos were "under threat from extreme rainfall, flash floods and landslides."

“Year after year, Filipinos are identified among the most impacted globally by this crisis, an emergency situation made worse by the big polluters, fossil fuel companies," Lea Guerrero, Greenpeace Philippines country director, said.

According to Greenpeace , the declaration should inform critical political decisions and concrete actions for the government to:

• Put climate urgency at the centre of all policy decision-making from a local to national level.
• Hold fossil fuel companies accountable for their role in driving climate change and inflicting harm on the Filipino people.
• Demand other countries, particularly industrialized nations, to enhance their emissions reduction ambitions in order to meet the Paris Agreement’s aim to limit global temperature rise within 1.5 degrees Celsius.
• Ensure the Philippines’ rapid and just transition to a low-carbon pathway through a massive uptake of renewable energy solutions.
• Phase-out coal, and stop all plans for future coal and fossil fuel investments.

“Filipino communities have been leading the way in exposing the big fossil fuel corporations most responsible for the emissions heating up the planet. But now it’s time for our government to formally acknowledge this urgent crisis and declare a climate emergency," Guerrero added.

As of Wednesday, there are at least 13 recorded deaths due to Tisoy. —Joahna Lei Casilao/LDF, GMA News