THE BALI CONFERENCE on climate change in December of 2007 put out the report of the United Nations scientists’ panel on the issue. It’s disturbing.

The report established the following facts: (1) climate change, with its attendant disasters, is now scientifically established; henceforth there will no longer be any debate about its reality. Urgent action is the only appropriate response. (2) climate change has been caused by the cumulative human action of industrial development and profligate consumption, carried out in utter disregard of the damage to environment; (3) some of the changes caused by man will trigger other changes in nature’s processes, thus intensifying and accelerating climate disasters; (4) we only have 10 years to try and slow down the human causes of climate change, and mitigate the disasters a little.

If these are the facts, one uncertain factor remains: whether the negotiations among nations are successfully hammered out and all the concerned nations do what is expected of them, considering the UN agreements remain “non-binding on governments”. Should, for some selfish reasons, some nations refuse to heed the call for unified action, (and this remains a possibility), then we must prepare ourselves to face the inevitable virulence of the coming climate disasters.

     But there is little consolation in having to merely adapt and put in as much heroism to cope with and survive the disasters. The urgent challenge then is for the people of every nation to convince their respective government to concede to a common solution and take responsibility according to the degree of harm each nation contributes, and to make the proper restitution. This would be the greater ach­ievement for all humanity, as it would bring the nations to act on one another’s behalf. After all, aren’t we all one?

And if this should come about, perhaps in the not too distant future the possibility finding solutions to the conflict among nations may have a better chance. We can no longer undo the damage done to the environment in the past; we can only decide to mend our ways. But we all know that the past profligacy did not do damage only to the environment. It created mass poverty across all the underdeveloped na­tions, and even in areas of developed nations. And so we have this other challenge to face: reducing the inequalities and the incidence of extreme hunger and po­verty.

Since the same root cause produced both climate change and mass poverty, it may not be too much to ask that the strategies for restitution also simultaneously bring about some remedy to these two consequences.

If nations agree on protecting the remaining forests of the world, hopefully they will also agree on strategies for inclusive development that ensures to the poor real access to opportunities, rather than simply awaiting the tickle down effect promised by past strategies.

In the case of the Philippines, we used to be the most forested country among the ASEAN. Today we have less than 5% forest cover and logging is allowed to continue. And mining has been allowed  close to or right inside protected areas. This clearly borders on insanity in the face of sure climate disasters, and the fact that in 2007 we were the most affected. We not only need to help mitigate climate change; we need a serious disaster preparedness capability. But this would first have to happen at the community level. That we learn to know how much is enough, and how we can act on one another’s behalf, not having to fear anytime, because we have the support of neighbors, such that in the face of disaster we are able to count on concerted neighborhood action.

What we can do along mitigating climate change we have to do as communities. We need to become sustainable communities with sustainable economies to be able to triumph over climate disasters. In what we must do to get government to seri­ously take the necessary steps we can succeed only if we do so as communities.

Hopefully, the climate challenge drives us to value life and nature more; and beyond that, to reciprocal valuing of one another towards cohering into community. Community wherein people accept accountability for action on climate change, accountability for sustainable development that diminishes inequalities and political instability. Where we accept accountability for everyone, to the last person, especially the poorest.

Simply and inclusively, accept accountability for one another. Our reward for facing the disasters on behalf of one another will be the forming of communities coming together into a union of self-sustaining communities, in place of the brokenness we now endure. 

In the coming months of the Kamayan para sa Kalikasan forum we shall try to outline together our community accountabilities for acting on climate change as well as on our collective desire for a better Philippines.         [A.V.C.]

SLISH Network News reported that on January 25, simultaneous "Communi­ty Actions for Environmental Justice" are set to be mounted jointly and individually by local Partido Kalikasan formations and the grassroots-based groups among WSF participating groups in the coun­try. A People’s Camp is also scheduled for this day to be held at the North Triangle in Barangay Bagong Pag-asa, Quezon City. During this Camp, Green groups may want to organize focused public forum, conferences, trainings and dialogues on our various issues. Already, the ATM (Alyansa Tigil Mina) has committed to organize a forum on mining while Par­tido Kalikasan will organize a peoples' forum on justice and climate change.