THE PHILIPPINES has been battered by devastating storms in recent weeks. We endure around 20 powerful typhoons a year, and occasionally experience earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Recently, in Liloan, Cebu, several families were caught in floods rising as high as their rooftops. They had to climb mango trees to escape.
Entire homes were flattened, and all properties were lost. They have nothing, not even extra clothes. That is how destructive typhoons can be.
Filipinos remain resilient as climate change tightens its grip on the weather, affecting their lives. They have the determination and strength to recover and continue surviving day by day. Inexplicably, many take these all with grim humor, even joking about their plight.
But it is no joke for the poor when their humble houses are obliterated and survive, despite having nothing left for their families. Those involved in the massive corruption in flood control projects that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. first exposed in July have a lot to answer for.
Meanwhile, world leaders who have gathered at the 30th United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Brazil have to continue serious efforts in bringing global warming under control.
Yet, we know that the climate is changing for the worse, and stronger, more intense weather is affecting many people all over the world. Like in previous editions, COP30 reminds us of the historic Paris Agreement signed 10 years ago. This pact binds countries to limit global temperatures to “well below” 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
However, in parts of the globe, temperatures have exceeded 1.5 C, and scientists say it is likely to rise higher. This could lead to catastrophic consequences, and our climate could reach a tipping point of no return.
The good news is that in the European Union, renewable energy (RE) produced by wind turbines and solar plants, as well as geothermal, hydropower and biomass facilities, has just overtaken fossil fuel as the main source of electricity. This is the ongoing struggle at COP30: the efforts to mitigate the negative effects of climate change are being thwarted by the fossil fuel industry, and some powerful nations, like the United States under President Donald Trump — who is not at the conference — want fossil fuel as their power source. However, many US states are going with renewables and working to hold global temperatures under 1.5 C.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said the “sun is rising on a clean energy age,” as 90 percent of RE projects are cheaper than fossil fuels. He has called on every major tech company to switch all of their data centers to run on 100-percent renewables by 2030.
Guterres has also said fossil fuels threaten the planet. Renewable sources of energy are the only way to go, and they’re much cheaper and safer.
“The greatest threat to energy security today is fossil fuels. They leave economies and people at the mercy of price shocks, supply disruptions and geopolitical turmoil,” he said.
“There are no price spikes for sunlight. No embargoes on wind. Renewable energy sources are cost-effective, too,” he said.
Solar power is about 41 percent cheaper than the cheapest fossil fuel alternative, and onshore wind generation is less than half the price of fossil fuels, according to a report from the International Renewable Energy Agency. (To be continued)/PN
