Equity not hot air

Rody’s position is a strong challenge to the United States particularly since it has been exiting most of the international deals which it had spearheaded and demanded that other countries adhere to.

President Rody Duterte made clear his demand for equity in the climate change pact or the Paris Agreement to which the country is a signatory, but he wanted the United Nations (UN) that sponsored it to impose sanctions.

Rody pointed out he is for the compact that seeks to limit and eventually end the use of fossil fuel, such as coal and petroleum, that pollutes the environment,

Earlier, Rody had balked at the agreement despite signing it after the United States under President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal.

From then on, Rody said any discussions on the agreement would be all air since there are no penalty mechanisms.

“UN should better understand that it has to have a sanction for violators,” Rody said. “Without a sanction, I do not think that it will succeed. It will only fail and worsen the situation for the coming generation.”

His critics have accused Rody of turning his back on the global movement, but he made clear that on the contrary he wanted stronger measures in protecting the environment.

The US government, for instance, withdrew from the global pact without any consequence.

“As the President (Donald Trump) has made abundantly clear, the United States is withdrawing unless we can reenter on terms that are more favorable to our country,” the White House said in a statement on the superpower’s position.

Trump once called climate change a “hoax,” and announced after assuming the presidency that his country will leave the Paris Agreement, which was met with widespread criticism both at home and abroad.

Rody wanted greater responsibility from industrialized nations, which are the source of much of the pollution and not those that are still in the development stage such as the Philippines.

He issued a directive restricting foreign travel to climate change conferences abroad since such meetings are futile without any meaningful implementation that binds the signatories.

Rody’s point is that participating in international talks about climate change is a waste of money when there was “no entity to enforce the laws governing climate.”

“I said to the body: Let’s stop kidding each other or else we are just wasting the time and the money of the people coming back and forth to these conferences, which has not improved a bit since we started to talk about it, except for the noisy scientists,” Duterte had said.

The Philippines, in a bid to cut down greenhouse gas emissions globally, committed to join almost 200 countries in a deal in December 2015 during the Aquino administration. The agreement was signed by Rody in March 2017.

Rody, however, consistently voiced his view that the agreement was a “farce” if developed countries would not honor their obligations.

Duterte’s position is a strong challenge to the United States particularly since it has been exiting most of the international deals which it had spearheaded and demanded that other countries adhere to.

“I don’t know why… I have to fathom the reason given the rationale of the withdrawal. Is it because it cannot work hand-in-hand with other nations, or is it because (Donald) Trump would like to do it alone?” Rody had said.

The US ranks as the second largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, according to the latest World Bank data.

“There has to be an enterprise in the approach, business-like, you honor your word,” Rody said. “You do not exceed the limits that we have set for ourselves. And the one thing that I said we cannot really control are those countries who are highly industrialized and powerful enough to impose their own will. That’s the problem,” the President went.

Developing nations should not be made to solely carry the burden of saving Mother Earth when it is the superpowers that are the chief source of the degradation of the environment.