Climate Activists Stands For Human Rights: The Fight for Just Transition to Clean Energy

The climate crisis remains as the most existential threat to the survival of humanity.  Without climate justice, no society can achieve the fulfillment of human rights. As climate justice groups are one with the communities in opposing fossil-fueled power plants and other criminal acts on the environment, we are also fighting for the rights of the people whose livelihoods, health, and well-being are threatened by the escalating climate crisis.

On International Human Rights Day, the PMCJ stresses the vital connection between human rights and climate justice. In Asia, 468 environmental defenders were murdered between 2012 and 2023, wherein 64 percent or 298 deaths were from the Philippines, according to independent watchdog Global Witness. With this, the latest reports say that the Philippines remains the deadliest country in the region for climate activists.

We advocate for the rights of communities whose livelihoods, health, and well-being are threatened by the deepening climate catastrophe brought about by fossil fuel power plants, large-scale mining, and corporate plantations:

The coastal barangays of Tambobong and Balacanas in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental, were relocated upland to give way to the FDC Misamis, Inc. coal-fired power plant. Fisherfolk who were denied access to their livelihood and had to find other places to fish or other forms of livelihood;

The Tboli tribe of Ned, Lake Sebu, Cotabato, whose ancestral lands are still denied to them in favor of a large coffee plantation. Their tribal leader, Datu Victor Danyan was killed in 2017. And there is a looming crisis in the form of an open pit mining activity adjoining their community;

The Anglao clan of the Manobo-Pulangiyon tribe in Quezon, Bukidnon, are denied entry to their ancestral land despite the issuance of a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title in 2023. The Kiantig Development Corporation, a pineapple plantation, refuses to vacate the land. A shooting incident in April 2022 resulted in three tribe members being shot, fortunately not killed;

The Sandag clan of the Blaan tribe, who are still fighting to claim their ancestral land, a part of which is occupied by the Sarangani Energy Corporation coal-fired power plant. Living adjacent to the plant has caused various health issues for the tribe;

The Don Carlos Bukidnon United Farmers Association Inc., has been awaiting their Certificate of Land Ownership Award under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program for more than three decades. Their president, Franklin Labial, was shot and killed in 2007.

It is clear that climate change is a human rights issue that disproportionately impacts the most vulnerable members of Philippine society. We acknowledge the inherent dignity and equal rights of every individual to oppose projects that endanger lives, and to protest and voice out their oppositions.

In addition to taking immediate, tangible action to lessen the effects of climate change, cut emissions, and promote climate-resilient communities, we call on our local and global leaders to protect the rights of people most impacted by the climate crisis.

We stand in solidarity with marginalized communities who face displacement, loss of income, and exposure to climate-related disasters, reaffirming our call for the Philippine government and the global community to prioritize climate action that is grounded in justice, equity, and human rights. ###

#DefendEnvironmentalDefenders #ClimateChangeIsAHumanRightsIssue #ClimateJusticeNow #IHRD2024