Faith-based and civil society organizations in the Philippines have expressed disappointment with the outcome of the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) in Dubai.
The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) on Wednesday voiced its dismay over the “weak developments” at the climate summit.
Ms. Minnie Anne Mata-Calub, general secretary of the Protestant council, said churches are “seeing how communities in the Philippines are being pushed by the crisis to adapt because failure to do so would mean hunger, displacement, or even slow death for them.”
She criticized the meager support in the Loss and Damage Fund, citing the inadequate contributions from wealthy nations.
“With the great humanitarian and development need caused by the climate crisis, these drops in the bucket are simply not enough,” said Ms. Calub.
During the initial plenary session of COP28, affluent nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Italy, France, the United States, and Japan, committed slightly over US$700 million. This amount falls below 0.2 percent of the global annual target of US$400 billion.
Calub also lamented the “watering down of the commitment to phase out fossil fuels,” adding that the world “deserves nothing short of the phaseout of the dirty industries that gave birth to the climate crisis.”
The latest text from the Global Stocktake (GST) calls for “reducing both the consumption and production of fossil fuels in a just, orderly, and equitable manner to achieve net zero by, before, or around 2050, in keeping with the science.”
Krishna Ariola, Founder Convenor of Youth for Climate Hope (Y4CH), echoed the sentiment, saying, “The COP28 outcome breathes life into fossil fuels while cutting short our chances of achieving the survival limit of 1.5°C.”
“Our generation, powered by movements across the globe, will ensure the end of the fossil fuel era. It is now a question of whether or not our global leaders will stand with us or against us,” she added.
Ariola stressed that the “full phaseout from fossil fuels is inevitable”. She accused the Global North of creating “new language and mechanisms to keep polluting”.
“Our future will be decided by us, inside or outside of the COP process. It is now a question of whether or not our global leaders will stand with us or against us,” she said.
Gerry Arances, Executive Director of the Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development, emphasized the failure of COP28 to act on the unprecedented momentum to end fossil fuels.
“While there have been improvements won by pressure from civic movements and parties alike, the new text still falls far short of what is the only acceptable action – a rapid, full, and equitable fossil fuel phaseout in line with 1.5°C,” he said.
He warned that vulnerable populations already have “one foot in the grave” due to the lack of decisive action.
