(Courtesy: Jimmy Domingo)
Aabot sa 1,500 enthusiast ang nakiisa sa ikinasang “Cycling for People and Planet event” na nagsimula sa University of the Philippines sa Quezon City patungo sa Marikina City.
Ayon kay Lidy Nacpil, coordinator ng Asian people’s Movement on Debt and Development, labing isang bansa sa Asya ang nanawagan sa pamahalaan at mga korporasyon na iligtas ang mundo sa climate catastrophe.
Kabilang sa mga nakiisa sa cycling event ang mga bansang Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, at Nepal.
“We want to step up the pressure on governments and corporations to address the climate crisis. Every increase in temperature means millions more people will be severely affected by flooding, droughts, heatwaves, and other extreme weather events. The temperature rises beyond 1.5 degrees would vastly change life on earth as we know it,” pahayag ni Nacpil.
Nabatid na ito na ang ikalawang cycling event na isinagawa ng grupo. Unang ginawa angg cycling event sa siyam na bansa noong Abril 24.
Paliwanag ng grupo, kaya ginawa ang cycling event sa Quezon City at Marikina dahil ang Marikina ay palaging binabaha tuwing tag-ulan.
“We are calling for bold actions now to ensure a safe and livable planet together with ordinary citizens as well as people whose daily lives are affected by the impacts of climate change. Individually our voices may be small, but together we can deliver the message loud and clear,” pahayag ni Nacpil.
Labis aniyang nakababahala na ang epekto ng climate change sa Asya.
“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.