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BILANG kinatawan ng ‘Withdraw From Coal Campaign’ umapela ang lider ng simbahang Katoliko sa Philippine financial institutions na tigilan ang pagbibigay ng pondo para sa pagpapalawak ng ‘coal operations’ sa bansa, sa halip ay suportahan ang pag-unlad ng ‘renewable energy.’
Ayon kay Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, ng Diocese ng San Carlos, Negros Occidental sa ginanap na 3rd Philippine Environment Summit na isinagawa sa Grand Caprice Convention Center sa Cagayan de Oro, ang ‘banks financing coal’ ay hindi lamang ang ‘climate crisis’ ang pinopondohan, kundi pinahihirapan din maging ang ‘coal-affected communities.’
“As fulfillment of their moral obligation, Philippine banks must have concrete plans to phase out coal finance in the time required by today’s climate crisis. They must have clear policies restricting their exposure to coal, channelling the funds they divest from it into clean and affordable renewable energy for all Filipinos,” ani Bishop Alminaza.
Kasabay nito, pinuri ng Bishop si Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa naging direktiba sa nakaraang State of the Nation Address (SONA) nitong 2019, na pagtuunan at mabilis na subaybayan ang pag-unlad ng ‘renewable energy resources’ at huwag dumepende sa karbon.
Ngunit tila binabalewala ito ng iba’t ibang sektor, kabilang ang finance industry at patuloy na sinusuportahan at pinopondohan ang karbon bilang ‘source’ ng enerhiya sa bansa, bagamat alam nilang ito ay nakalalason ‘di lamang sa kalikasan, kundi maging sa kalusugan ng sambayanan.
“The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) reported that the world has until 2030 to reduce coal use by 78% from 2010 levels to avoid even more disastrous climate impacts. As stewards of Creation, we must unite with our scientists on this and seek to veer away from a fuel that causes the suffering of our people and destruction of our Common Home,” giit ni Alminaza.
Kasabay nito gumawa ng petition letter sa Bank of the Philippine Islands, ang banko na sinabing karamihan ng Church organizations ay may financial relations, na nilagdaan ng daan-daang dumalo sa nasabing summit, kabilang si Bishop Antonio Ledesma ng Cagayan De Oro.
“We appeal to all to join the calls as written in our letter as expression of our care for our common home and our future generations. For as one saying goes, ‘we do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors – we borrow it from our children.’ We must act swiftly for time is running out,” dagdag ng Obispo.
