Libu-libong bikers ang nakiisa sa climate activists sa sa siyam na bansa sa Asya.
Ito ay para ipanawagan na tugunan ang nangyayaring climate change.
Kabilang sa mga bansang nakiisa sa biking events na tinawag na ‘Pedal for People and Planet’ ang Pililinas, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal at Pakistan.
Ayon kay Lidy Nacpil, coordinator ng Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), nanawagan ang kanilang hanay sa pamahalaan at malalakkng korporasyon na pangalagaan ang kalikasan.
“We want to highlight the horrific dangers of climate change, especially for Asian communities, and the many bold actions needed to address climate change. The impacts of climate change are already devastating for the people of Asia and we know that it will become much worse in the coming decades unless we stop global warming in its tracks,” pahayag ni Nacpil.
Nabatid na sa Pilipinas, isinagawa ang bike actions sa Metro Manila, Camarines Norte, Davao City at Batangas.
Sa Thailand naman, nakilahok ang mga bikers sa Bang Ra Kham district na matinding tinamaan ng baha at tagtuyot.
Sa Japan, isinagawa ang bike action bilang bahagi ng Japanese protest action laban sa Yokosuka Coal Power Plant sa Kanagawa.
Sa Bangladesh, pumadyak naman ang rickshaw drivers sa coastal areas ng Khulna.
Sa Delhi at Kolkata sa India, hindi lamang bikes ang naging tampok kundi maging ang vending carts with wheels.
Sa Nepal, pumadyak ang mga bikers ng 10 kilometro mula sa Heritage Site patungo sa siyudad ng Kathmandu, habang ang mga bikers sa Pakistan ay umikot sa Lahore.
Ayon kay Nacpil, pinaka-urgent na dapat aksyunan sa climate change ay ang pag phase outsa fossil fuels at palitan ng 100 porsyentong renewable energy.
“We call for a rapid, just and equitable phaseout of fossil fuels and transition to clean energy. We need to be fossil fuel-free before 2050. At the current pace, the world will exceed 3°C of global warming by 2030. This will cause massive deaths and damage to communities, livelihoods, food systems, habitats, and economies. Science tells us, however, that limiting the rise in global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius, the safest temperature limit still possible, is not beyond reach. But we need systemic changes, not hollow pledges for net zero that allow for business as usual to continue,” pahayag ni Nacpil.
“We call for actions that deliver climate justice to countries that are much more vulnerable to climate change and communities that are least able to prepare for, and recover from climate change impacts. We likewise reject false solutions, such as technologies that claim to neutralize the impacts of fossil fuels, as well as market mechanisms that do not deliver what is required to limit global warming and speed up the transition to 100 percent renewable sources,” saad naman ni Ian Rivera, Philippine Movement for Climate Justice.
“Developing countries have contributed the least to global warming with less than four percent of global carbon emissions. There is a huge climate debt owed to developing countries by developed countries for the damage caused by their disproportionately large contributions to climate change,” pahayag ni Sreedhar Ramamurthi ng Environics Trust India.