"We need to change that."
Starting the first week of December, all eyes will be on Katowice, Poland as negotiators gather for the 24th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Central to the agenda is the finalization of the Paris Rulebook, a set of guidelines that will operationalize the Paris Agreement. The rulebook is considered to be the heart and soul of the landmark treaty as it determines how country commitments will actually be implemented starting 2020. After the recent release of a report claiming that we only have until 2030 to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees, many are hopeful that Katowice will signal a move toward higher ambition from all countries.
And yet, as world leaders take the stage giving speeches on committing to enhanced action to combat climate change, and as delegations shuffle to airports all over the world for the annual two-week marathon of negotiations, communities on the front lines are still up in arms to combat new fossil fuel projects and climate summits that are still being sponsored by fossil fuel companies. This, despite long-accepted scientific evidence that fossil fuels are the number one contributor to climate change.
Take the Philippines for example. The last two weeks saw increased opposition online to at least two coal-fired power plant projects in La Union and Mariveles.
In La Union, Luzon’s surfing capital, a coalition of nongovernment organizations and religious groups are urging Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu to cancel the environmental compliance certificate issued to a 670-megawatt project by the Global Luzon Energy Development Corp. in Luna. In Mariveles, on the other hand, Mariveles Power Generation is seeking an ECC to start construction despite the vehement opposition of community groups like the Coal-Free Bataan Movement, who have also reported health conditions like lung diseases and skin ailments since the operation of a San Miguel Corporation coal plant in Barangay Lamao, Limay.
Some of the most toxic chemicals on earth are released by burning coal, including arsenic, lead, mercury, chromium, and cadmium. A report from Greenpeace based on research conducted by Harvard University found that an estimated 2,410 people in the Philippines could die premature deaths each year due to stroke, heart disease, and respiratory diseases caused by the pollution from coal power. “The energy demand of Bataan is only 58 MW but we are producing more than 1000 MW courtesy of existing coal plants.” Derec Cabe, coordinator for the movement said. “Is the health of Bataan citizens being sacrificed for profit yet again?”
The unrelenting grip of the fossil fuel industry can also be felt in the corporate sponsorship of these climate conferences. Polluters have historically sponsored the climate talks as part of a PR strategy to showcase their being part of the solution. In exchange, they are usually allowed space in the conference center and given the opportunity to mount side events for participants introducing their new “sustainable” products and programs.
COP 21 in Paris, for example, was sponsored by fossil fuel energy company Engie and fracking enthusiast Suez Environment. Meanwhile, Shell was among the platinum sponsors of this year’s UNFCCC Asia Pacific Climate Week in Singapore.
For COP 24, Poland climate envoy Thomas Chruszczow has dismissed calls for the EU to support a conflict-of-interest policy to keep polluters out of the climate talks, despite the Africa Group negotiators warning once again that business involvement “threatens the integrity and legitimacy of the process.”
We must remember these unfortunate realities on the ground as we negotiate our way to a rulebook that will determine our future in the era of climate change. Stripping the fossil fuel industry of their power starts with saying no to the convenience of sponsorships and ends with never having to sacrifice another community ever again to the effects of projects in the name of progress.
Our fight for climate justice should also translate in the legitimacy of how we conduct business to arrive at decisions in the climate regime. Ultimately, climate justice is ensuring the health and human rights of vulnerable people on the frontlines — the very people we should be representing in the negotiations.
Beatrice Tulagan, 24, is the executive director of Climate Stories Philippines.
