Filipino cycling enthusiasts joined climate campaigners on Sunday, October 2, in 24 coordinated biking events in eight countries across Asia to call on governments to accelerate the “just and equitable transition” to 100 percent renewable energy to address climate change.
The event “Pedal for People and Planet” was held in the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal.
“All governments worldwide have to act now to make this transition happen,” said Lidy Nacpil, coordinator of the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD).
She said governments of rich countries are not only responsible for their domestic transition, “they must stop funding fossil fuels overseas and deliver fully on their climate finance obligations to developing countries.”
“We are here today to raise the call for a fossil fuel-free future,” said Nacpil.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported recently that without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, limiting global warming to 1.5°C will not be possible.
“It is unacceptable that in the midst of the climate crisis, governments are not choosing to accelerate the transition to renewable energy,” said Nacpil in a statement.
Ian Rivera of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, meanwhile, said that the promotion of hydrogen and ammonia as fuels of the future, carbon capture and storage technology, and fossil gas as transition fuel are “false solutions.”
“Fossil fuel financiers justify promotion of fossil gas as transition energy and reliance on false technological fixes by citing various reasons such as the variability of solar and wind power, and the urgency to provide stable energy access. Such reasons have already been debunked by energy experts,” said Rivera.
The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows that average annual global greenhouse gas emissions were at their highest levels in human history in the last decade.
To keep global temperature rise within the 1.5°C threshold, the world would need to use about 95 percent less coal, 60 percent less oil, and 45 percent less gas in 2050.
The event on Sunday was the third “Pedal for People and Planet” event this year.
