When President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office, he immediately expressed disdain for the Paris Agreement—a global pact that acknowledges the need for decisive action on greenhouse gas emissions that in turn contribute to the warming of the planet.
Climate change is worsening, scientists say, with dire consequences for the planet especially those living along coasts and who do not have the wherewithal to be resilient. The only way this can be mitigated is for all countries of the world to commit to cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Cuts are a tricky matter, though. There is an ongoing debate on historical responsibility —that the developed countries, which began industrialization centuries ago, contributed more to the warming and should thus cut more than the less-industrialized ones.
And then, for each individual country, there is the dilemma of balancing a country’s developmental needs with its commitment to the Paris pact. The Philippines for instance still has an energy crisis, and coal-fired power plants—which do emit the gases that are supposed to be curbed—are still the cheapest and most widely available source of energy.
“Greener” options are being introduced, but these are still limited and expensive.
Against the backdrop of this dilemma, members of the Philippine delegation will fly to Morocco this week for this year’s climate talks. What message from the President will they carry?
This week Mr. Duterte clarified that he did not really say he would not sign the Paris Agreement—it had not yet been officially brought to his attention. He was just being careful: “Of course I had my misgivings. But those were just misgivings.”
Nobody denies the need to be careful in weighing the demands of development and the long-term consequences of runaway climate change, given that coal is not really “cheap” because there are hidden costs that come with the exposure of communities to the pollution it brings.
We also need to be careful that we do not sacrifice the well-being of future generations for today’s material gains. The Philippines has always stood with the community of nations in recognizing that we collectively need to do something today to avert more and worse disasters in the future.
The President should also take his caution further—and apply it to his propensity to utter strong words about issues, personalities, countries or organizations. If he continues to “clarify” his statements or let his subalterns put them “in the proper context,” he will soon cease to be a fascinating, colorful character—and will be reduced to a man devoid of credibility every time he opens his mouth.
The issue of climate change will outlast the Duterte administration and all of us. Bigger than any one person or nation, it is encompassing and far-reaching. Careful, indeed, we must be—we owe the next generations that much.