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Environmental, Human Rights and Legal Protests Merge in Philippines

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Environmental, Human Rights and Legal Protests Merge in Philippines 01 noviembre, 2013 | Fundación Ideas para la Paz MANILA, Philippines –A civil society network advocating for Environmental, human reforms to help the country adapt to climate change expressed dismay on Tuesday, over the Aquino administration’s push for rights and legal protests coal-fired power plants, and renewed its call on government to merge in Philippines mining tap cleaner and less wasteful sources of energy. Aksyon Klima Pilipinas, in a statement, said it was disappointed Published by MAC on 2013-10-28 with the apparent priority given to coal by government in Source: Statements, Inquirer, Bulatlat, Business Mirror supplying the country’s energy needs. (2013−10−27) “We are dismayed to see the government’s renewable energy Philippines environmental groups have been celebrating a day of plans go to waste in favor of dirty and harmful energy. Our action against coal, promoting arguments for alternatives to the message is simple: Coal will cost us the climate, which in turn construction of coal fired power stations. They expressed will cost all of us our lives and livelihoods,” Voltaire Alferez, disappointment at the Aquino administration’s push for coal-fired national coordinator of Aksyon Klima, said. power plants. “It looks cheaper in the short term compared to renewable energy, but our lives and our environment are much more costly,” he said. Aksyon Klima noted that the Renewable Energy Law was passed in 2008, and the government later on followed it up with the National Renewable Energy Plan in 2010 seeking to triple the renewable energy capacity of the country by 2030. Moreover, Aquino signed in 2011 the National Climate Change Action Plan, which identified sustainable energy as a priority, it said. “However, Aquino has defended the building of more coal-fired power plants in his last State of the Nation Address by citing the limitations of renewable energy,” the group said. Residents of coal-affected communities march to Mendiola In addition, the Philippine Development Plan prioritizes coal-fired on 22 October 2013. Source: Danny Pata, GMANews power plants in the next several years of this administration, affirming the president’s SONA pronouncement, it added. Human rights and indigenous support groups commemorated the massacre of anti-mining activist Juvy Capion and her two sons “Renewable energy technologies continue to improve while the (see: Philippines: Tampakan violence claims the lives of tribal costs continue to decrease,” Alferez said. woman and her children[1]), by stressing the lack of progress on “In the meantime, the sea continues to warm and rise, while the murder investigations. typhoons are becoming more frequent and intense because of the The people of Marinduque are still searching for justice after the burning of coal and other fossil fuels. [Mr. Aquino] has more than Marcopper disaster (see articles in Philippines: Realities of enough reasons to invest in renewable energy, but has yet to mining in Nueva Vizcaya laid bare[2]). MAC editor Catherine step up his game,” he said. Coumans laments the “crumbs” Canadian company Barrick Gold Forty-three percent of carbon dioxide emissions from fuel is finally offering the people of Marinduque in compensation, combustion were produced from coal in 2010, compared to 36 having fought legal battles for so long. A group that has fought percent from oil and 20 percent from gas, according to a 2012 for redress is rejecting the reported offer for being too small. publication of the International Energy Agency. In company news, the American corporation St. Augustine is On the other hand, a 2011 United States study estimated that the restructuring itself, with local partner Nadecor, to raise money economic, health-related, environmental, and other impacts of for the King-king copper-gold project, and the Norwegian Intex coal cost the United States a third to over one-half a trillion Resources looks like it may finally have resolved its long running dollars annually. legal battle with local partners Atok-Big Wedge Co. Farmers, fishermen protest coal mines in Semirara, Caluya Finally a lawmaker in Nueva Ecija is filing a bill to join other islands provinces to declare a mining-free zone. Written by Jonathan L. Mayuga Aquino urged to stop pushing coal power plants Business Mirror By DJ Yap 22 October 2013 Philippine Daily Inquirer FARMERS and fishermen on Tuesday expressed alarm over the 22 October 2013 adverse environmental impact of massive extraction of coal in 1 two of the country’s largest coal mines and marked the atmosphere and it is the biggest source of current global green International Day of Action against Coal with massive street house gas emissions. According to the International Energy protests in Antique province. Agency (IEA), 45% or 14.2 gigatonnes of the total 31.6 gigatonnes of global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel Led by Isalba ang Caluya, some 400 farmers and fishermen combustion in 2011 came from burning of coal. The excessive called on the local officials of Antique to stop the expansion of concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from the coal mines in the province. historical as well as current emissions is causing global warming The government is looking to Semirara Mining Corp. to supply and climate change. coal for the majority of the 35 new coal fired power plants Coal mining and combustion processes have serious toxic effects planned to start operations in the coming years. on the health of people and the environment. These in turn The group said a landslide in February at Semirara Mining severely weaken resilience and undermine the capacity of people Corp.‘s coal mine left 10 people dead but the tragedy was hardly and communities to deal with the impacts of climate change. reported in the media. Coal mining destroys forests, mountains and watersheds — which They said violations of environmental and labor laws have been has many serious consequences including the exacerbation of flagrant over the years-waste are dumped into the ocean and climate disasters. land grabbing and loss of fishing grounds have been happening 2. There is NO such thing as “Clean Coal.” Coal kills. in the area. “Clean coal” technology — or the use of circulating fluidized bed On the other hand, in Caluya, various stakeholders are now up in combustion system, emit four (4) times more coal ashes arms against the open-pit mining for coal. compared to ordinary coal plants. According to Environmental “Despite more than 30 years of open-pit mining in Caluya, people Protection Agency (EIA) of the US government, the risk of have been afraid to speak out. Today they are breaking their getting cancer is 900 times higher from coal ash exposure silence and are participating, along with 14 other sites across the compared cigarette smoking. Philippines in this Day of Action,” the group said. 3. This is NOT energy for all Resist Coal! RE-Energize All! The Philippine Energy Plan will power a “development” strategy http://climatejustice.ph/campaigns/dirty-energy/28-resist-coal-re- that keeps our economy oriented towards global market demands energize-all[3] instead of our peoples’ needs and keeps our doors open to plunderers of our natural resources. Meantime, majority of our 20 October 2013 people can barely afford the current electricity rates or are not Coal is one of the biggest source of energy for the Philippines as even connected. well as worldwide. And in the last decade it has been the fastest The new coal power plants to be built in SOCSARGEN region in growing global energy source. Mindanao — the 200 megawatt plant of Conal Holdings and the Coal energy has been actively pushed by transnational proposed 400 megawatts plant of the Alcantara Group — are corporations, international financial institutions, international mainly intended to fulfil the 900 megawatts required by the energy investors, and governments of both developed and Xtrata/Glencore mining project in Tampakan, South Cotabato to developing countries including the Philippines — with the be fully operational. justification that coal is a cheap source of energy and is an 4. This is a BETRAYAL of the Philippine government’s important part of the strategy for ensuring “Energy for All”. In commitment to shift to renewable energy systems and contribute the past decade, especially in light of increasing awareness of to the global effort to address the climate crisis. and resistance to the dirty and harmful nature of coal energy — international financial institutions, energy investors and The Philippine government’s “coal push” will lock-in the country corporations and many governments especially those of coal to dirty and harmful energy and extend Philippine dependence on producing countries are trying to sell the idea of “Clean Coal”. coal for at least the next 2 decades. In the last 5 years, the Philippine government: We, therefore call on the government to immediately implement a moratorium on all new coal plants and coal mining, pending a Approved the building of 17 new coal plants in addition to national review of energy options with civil society, scientific 15 existing coal plants, and 20 more are proposed. community and affected communities. Approved 21 new coal mining permits bringing the total Whitewash of Capion massacre a push for plunderers and number of existing coal mining permits to 60 coal mining murderers-Karapatan existing permits Press Statement To all these we say: 22 October 2013 1. Coal is NOT cheap. It comes with a horrifyingly huge cost to “All along, the whitewashing
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