“Confront climate change—or invest in life rafts”

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Friday, July 21 2006 @ 12:14 AM PDT
Contributed by: gpsea
Views: 167

Earth FirstGreenpeace activists in Thailand and the Philippines today simultaneously called upon their respective energy ministers with 'life rafts' and 'life buoys' to demand urgent action to combat climate change through aggressive investments in renewable energy.



The group warned that, by failing to do so, these countries face the grim prospects of sea-level rise, floods, disastrous storms and prolonged droughts.

The demonstrations, held on the eve of the ASEAN Energy Ministers Meeting slated in Laos next week, highlighted the need for urgent action in the region to stop climate change. Volunteers in the Philippines, wearing swim trunks and carrying life buoys, protested in front of the Department of Energy (DoE) in Manila with the words “Act Now!” emblazoned on their chests. In Bangkok, Thailand, Greenpeace activists deployed a 16-man emergency life raft in front of the Thailand Energy Ministry with images of floods and destruction caused by climate change, and unfurled a banner with the message "Invest in renewable energy now".

"Climate change must be put at the heart of our countries' economic and energy policies. We are already losing billions of dollars from the economic, social and environmental impacts of climate change. Energy policies of governments in the region must respond to this crisis with urgency by setting ambitious targets for renewable energy in the country and by pushing ASEAN towards this direction," said Greenpeace Southeast Asia Climate and Energy campaigner in Thailand Tara Buakamsri.

Southeast Asian scientists revealed this week that due to an increase in extreme weather events, Thailand suffered more than Bt70 billion (around US$ 1.75 billion) in economic losses in the period between 1989 and 2002, while the Philippines lost an annual average of 4.5 billion pesos (around US$ 83 million) from 1975 to 2002. To mitigate these impacts, they said countries in the region must urgently combine disaster-preparedness programs with greenhouse emission reduction measures such as displacing fossil energy with renewables and energy efficiency(1).

The ASEAN Energy Ministers Meeting next week will be held amid intensifying climate impacts in the region: floods, storms and droughts, and the ever-rising costs of fossil fuels. But, while Southeast Asia is one of the regions most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, the issue is still not a priority in ASEAN energy discussions. At present, the combined carbon emissions of ASEAN countries ranks third among the developing areas of the world, following China and India(2).

"Instead of advancing renewable energy to thwart climate change and address real energy security, our energy policies are retrogressing towards addiction to coal. This type of energy policies are in fact a threat to our country and region. The Philippines and Thailand should take the lead in steering the ASEAN toward adopting low carbon economies,” said Jasper Inventor, Climate and Energy Campaigner in the Philippines.

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Notes:
1) Sources: Crisis or Opportunity: Climate Impacts and Thailand, Crisis or Opportunity: Climate Impacts and the Philippines, both Greenpeace reports are available for download at www.greenpeace.org.ph

2) Data from the US Energy Information Administration show that Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia produced nearly 250 million tons of carbon emissions in 2003. In comparison, China produced 965.72 million tons, and India 279.50 million tons in the same period.
http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia