IN THE PHILIPPINES, advocacy for the environment did not just spring in 2006 when former US vice-president Al Gore premiered his film documentary on global warming and the climate crisis titled An Inconvenient Truth which then became a critical and commercial success and energized the environment movement worldwide.
As early as the 1970s, some organizations in the country were already blossoming among concerned citizens from the academe, science, religious, indigenous communities, or plain Nature lovers to deal with issues that threaten the planet especially where they are rooted.
So then evolved various environmental initiatives seriously looking into and acting on a spectrum of threats, from ridge to reefs and the spaces between.
At a ripe time in 2011, Green Convergence for Safe Food, Healthy Environment and Sustainable Economy formally incorporated with a vision to be a catalyst for community actions and synergistic actions with diverse organizations towards an ecological sustainable development.
THE CONVERGENCE
And came about The Philippine Environment Summit, convened by Green Convergence (GC) with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in partnership with Energy Development Corporation (EDC). Dr. Angelina P. Galang, GC key founder, first president and remaining an active board trustee, expressed recently: “We had always dreamed of reaching many, many people because one of our objectives is to have a critical mass of Filipinos working for the environment.”
Considered the flagship program of the coalition, the summit is held every two years since 2016 in cities representing the geographical regions of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao where it gathers, for three days up to 1,000 attendees per session, environmentalists from various sectors – government to non-government organizations and individuals from the academe, science, business, religious, and indigenous communities.
To date, selected themes focused on a popular and critical issue of the time: Breakthroughs and Innovations towards Sustainable Development (1st PES, Pasay City in Metro Manila), Mainstreaming Innovations in Sustainable Development (2nd PES, Cebu City), Paradigm re-Shift: Heeding Nature (3rd Summit, Cagayan de Oro City), and Caring for Earth: Scaling U Solutions to the Climate Emergency (4th PES, Tagaytay City in Cavite).
Earth stewardship cannot wait for a better time, it even needs to be stronger and urgent like taking a quantum leap before the devastating, escalating climate crisis overtake humans.
THE 5TH PES: WHAT’S UP?
With the theme, Ako ang Bukas: Quantum Leap to Climate Neutrality, the 5th Philippine Environment Summit is set this February 19-21 in Iloilo City in the Grand Xing Imperial Hotel.
“All the grim predictions of a problematic future due to climate change along with the heartening efforts of different sectors of Philippine society to create adaptation and mitigation programs that can stem the onslaught of the climate change crisis led us to this theme,” Victoria M. Segovia, president of Green Convergence, avers.
Ako ang Bukas is a movement born in 2020 calling on all Filipinos to help address climate change. AAB convenor Dr. Galang says: “We emphasize the need to reach climate neutrality, that is, our carbon emissions should be balanced by our carbon sinks or our offsets like trees and vegetation.” As strategy, the project team has designed a carbon footprint calculator for individuals, households and entities to measure their carbon footprints so that in knowing they will take steps to lower them.
For three days, this is when earth stewardship is inspired, challenged, and celebrated.
“The choice of Iloilo City as venue for the summit’s 5th edition attests to our appreciation of how the place has developed as a model for sustainable growth,” adds Segovia.
MOVING FORWARD
Students and other youth who usually comprise nearly half of the summit audience should feel closer affinity to the theme. As Greta Thunberg, popular 22-year old Swedish environment youth activist earlier said, “It is a strange world…where those who have contributed the least to this (climate) crisis are the ones who will be affected the most.”
Earth stewardship cannot wait for a better time, it even needs to be stronger and urgent like taking a quantum leap before the devastating, escalating climate crisis overtake humans.