Volunteers seek anew passage of renewable energy bill

Hundreds of students, bikers, runners and volunteers gathered at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City Saturday and marched for the passage of the Renewable Energy Bill on the Global Day of Action Against Climate Change. Environmental group Greenpeace said its Energy Parade is one of many simultaneous public activities happening around the world demanding urgent action to address climate change. "The Global Day of Action against Climate Change is targeted at world governments now convening in Bali for the UN Climate Change Conference where negotiations are ongoing on a range of measures to curb greenhouse gas emissions and avert the dire impacts predicted to result from climate change," it said in a statement. Greenpeace said a simultaneous mobilization in Iloilo City called on the government to fast track the passage of the Renewable Energy (RE) Bill and help people shift away from the use of climate change-inducing fossil fuels. "Government action on the Renewable Energy (RE) Bill has been extremely disappointing, considering how government officials, including Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself, keep on repeating that the bill is a priority. Today we are challenging the government to go beyond superficial tokenism, and to demonstrate with clear actions that they are taking important steps to mainstream genuine climate change solutions," said Greenpeace Southeast Asia Campaigns Director Von Hernandez. He said developing countries are projected to suffer the worst impacts of climate change, according to experts. In the Philippines, he said climate change has manifested itself through extreme weather events, which have caused disasters resulting in the death of thousands and economic losses in billions. "The government continues to be shamefully remiss in ensuring the approval of the RE Bill, despite the fact that the country has considerable renewable energy potential from wind and solar power which for the most part remained largely untapped," Greenpeace lamented. It noted that last year, the 13th Congress failed to take the opportunity to enact the crucial bill into law. Worse, the government continues to promote the establishment of dirty coal power plants, which will lock the country in a dirty energy cycle for many years. "Committee hearings on the Renewable Energy Bill in the House of Representatives only started two weeks ago, while similar proceedings in the Senate have yet to commence. The Senate Committee on Energy is chaired by Sen. Miriam Defensor whose chief counterpart in the House is Rep. Mikee Arroyo," it said. "Investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy is a win-win solution. Providing the right policy incentives for the development of renewable energy systems in the country would liberate us from our addiction to dirty fossil fuels. More importantly, it will help in global efforts to avert an impending climate catastrophe which now threatens to undermine our future," added Hernandez. - GMANews.TV