Al Gore: Over 13M Filipinos may need to be relocated

Al Gore speaks on Monday before the Climate Reality Project. Danny Pata

Over 13 million Filipinos may need to be relocated due to sea levels that are bound to rise faster in the Philippines than in the rest of the world due to global warming, former United States Vice President Al Gore said Monday.

Gore, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for his efforts to raise awareness about climate change, made the statement in a forum in Manila held by his organization The Climate Reality Project.

"The rate of sea level rise is projected to be two or three times faster in the Philippines," said Gore.

"Why is that, you will ask. Because about half of the current sea level rise comes from the warming of the oceans. It's something called thermal expansion...when the oceans get warmer, the molecules spread out. And since they're getting warmer faster around the Philippines than just about anywhere else on earth, the sea level is increasing faster here," he added.

The former US vice president said at least 13.5 million Filipinos might have to be relocated over time to higher elevations due to rising sea levels caused by melting glaciers, among others.

Gore will be in Manila until Thursday to lead experts' and stakeholders' discussions on climate change. 

Last Saturday, he went on a surprise visit to Tacloban City in Leyte which suffered the greatest damage from the onslaught of typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan).

"It very deeply affected me," Gore said of his visit, which included talking to survivors of the typhoon.

Typhoon Yolanda was one of the strongest the world has ever seen, killing over 6,000 people when it hit the Philippines in November 2013.

No longer victims, but educators

During the Climate Reality Project event, Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez shared what the city went through.

"I personally had to bury 2,500 of my people. We did it in 45 days, very difficult," he said.

"My concern during the time was how do we encourage our people? Everybody's in shock. How do we make them focus on getting their lives back?" the mayor added.

Romualdez said the local government revisited its comprehensive land use plan and building code. He added that they're "continually institutionalizing" their learnings from the experience.

He said Filipinos have to stop being mere victims of climate change, but educators who must spread the word on mitigation and adaptation.

Shift to renewable energy

Gore said the world will continue to experience extreme weather events such as record-breaking storms and intense droughts if countries do not work together to lessen greenhouse gas emissions.

This can be achieved by doing away with coal-fired power plants and investing more in renewable energy such as solar, wind, and geothermal energy, he said.

"Because of the impacts of climate-related extreme weather and because of our understanding of what is happening, it has now become a simple choice between what is right and what is wrong," he said.

"That is why (there's) a people movement from the grassroots up to confront the decision makers and the leaders in making the choice for yes instead of no, for right instead of wrong," he said.

In the recently concluded COP21 summit in France, nearly 200 countries agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions in order to limit the rise in global temperatures to below 2 degrees Celsius.

More coal-fired power plants in PHL

In the Philippines, there is already a renewable energy law that provides incentives to encourage renewable energy investments, said Senate climate change committee chair Sen. Loren Legarda.

The problem is with implementation, as renewable energy tends to cost more to produce than energy from fossil fuel, she said.

Legarda lamented that the government approved permits for the construction of 25 coal-fired power plants over the next decade when the country is supposed to be shifting to renewable energy.

The senator, who has authored several environmental laws, said she will "push for the progressive reduction of the least efficient coal-fired power plants and will work towards banning their construction."

The senator added: "Although the Philippines is not a major emitter of greenhouse gases, we cannot let our economy grow through the waste that actually caused today's climate crisis." —JST/TJD, GMA News