Coal phase out ihinirit ng climate campaigners

(Photo courtesy: Jimmy Domingo) Suot ang makukulay na tiger masks, nagsagawa ng flash  mob ang climate campaigners sa Fil-Chinese Friendship Arch sa  Binondo, Manila ngayong araw. Ito ay para ipagdiwang ang  Tiger Lunar New Year. Panawagan ng grupo ang total coal phase out at rapid development ng renewable energy systems sa Pilipinas at sa buong Asya. Kabilang sa mga nanawagan ang grupong Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), Sanlakas, Philippine Movement for Climate Change (PMCJ), Oriang Women’s Movement and Partido Laban ng Masa (PLM). Nanawagan din ang grupo sa China na agad na aksyunan ang  climate pronouncements at paiigtingin ang   leadership sa climate action. “As we enter the Tiger Lunar New Year, we call on Chinese institutions and banks to immediately stop financing and investing in overseas coal projects in line with the announcement of President Xi Jinping last September 2021,” pahayag ni Lidy Nacpil, coordinator ng APMDD.  “We also urge the Chinese government to stop all subsidies for fossil fuels and strongly support the building of renewable energy systems in Asia,” dagdag ni Nacpil. Matatandaan na noong September 21, 2021, sinabi ni Chinese President Xi Jinping sa United Nations General Assembly na “China will step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy, and will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad.” Isa ang China sa pinakamataas na contributors para pondohan ang  coal overseas.