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#Decolonize #Decarbonize Final Report from the Philippines
by Maye Pacquing, Yolicia Reyes, Luis Esguerra, Enrico Alba
Veritas Catholic School
Issues of Power, Colonization, and Climate Change
Highly industrialized countries are one of the causes of climate change which emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and more resources are being used. Expansion of residential properties and cities result in deforestation. The ones affected by climate change are the poor countries and indigenous peoples from different countries who aren’t given enough attention and who are not consulted about their own welfare.
In the course of our research on #decolonize #decarbonize, we came across countless projects in the Philippines that supposedly aims to “improve the quality of life of Filipinos.” One of these is construction of a 1,200-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Atimonan town, Quezon province. Congressmen claim that the power plant is “needed to ensure enough power supply in Quezon and nearby provinces.[The province of Quezon] may lose P400 million in revenues if we don’t address its very thin power supply against increasing consumption,” one congressman said. The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), which supplies electricity in Mega-Manila, will construct a 2×600 MW ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant in Atimonan, Quezon.
We recognize the benefits of electrical power, of course, but we sincerely doubt that the government has done intensive research on the environmental impacts on our local ecosystem. According to energyeducation.ca, “The burning of coal releases many pollutants - oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and sulfur (SOx) - and particulate matter. They also emit greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), which are known to contribute to global warming and climate change.”
We also learned that when power plants remove water from the environment, fish and other aquatic life can be affected, along with animals relying on these sources. Pollutants also build up in the water that power plants use, so if this water is discharged back into the environment it can potentially harm wildlife there (energyeducation.ca).
We have questions: Are there consultations with the indigenous communities living along Atimonan? What regulatory and monitoring efforts have been put in place? Who benefits from the power plant construction, aside from what the government and Meralco claim--the people of Quezon? What are the long-term goals of the project, and how will they address the impacts the power plant will surely leave on the environment?
So you see, we do not only see other countries as colonizers. We see our own government as colonizers. We see the Philippine private sector as colonizers. If they say we need energy, and there is no other source by a supercritical coal-powered plant, who are we to refute that? Have we learned anything in school about the real harmful effects power plants? Maybe our own schools are colonizers too. It’s about time that we change all that.
Role of Colonizers in Climate Action; Role of Colonized in Climate Action
Since society is made of power structures and, at times, ambiguous hierarchies the very way of life of a person changes. Much like Ghana, the kind of powers at play affect the way of life, the health, the economy. It is said that the thing that governs man’s actions is “seduction, sovereignty, or “sex, money and politics” govern society. They affect our way of life, quality and price of living therefore our choices. When choices are affected, so are our actions. Think of the flush of Chinese, Taiwanese and Korean products in our country as well as the American ideals that we have developed, shared and are practicing. Think of the choices we are forced to make for the sake of saving money, convenience and fads. These choices affect our environment and affect more than the direct environment, like the chaos theory, it may seem tiny but even the flutter of butterfly’s wings can bring about devastating consequences.
What is scary is that colonizers/power-holders are also in the institutions we rely on for governance, services, education, and livelihood. We then should be vigilant, and help the helpless be vigilant.
Indigenous communities should use their traditional knowledge to think of creative ways on how they can protect their environment and create renewable energy development. Their role is to slip away from fossil fuels and use more traditional system of transportation. They should insist on representation in the government, from the community/barangay level, to the upper echelons of Congress, Senate, National Government.
We believe that these roles should not be fixed. They are taken by people with initiative, money and have ascribed power. We need to strive to gain powers. Power needs to be taken by those who want to use them for good.
Navigating, slash living with them, we need to make the effort to deliberately learn about the systems that affect our world. It should never feel like a burden or something we are not part of. We have to take a more proactive stance with our society. After all, the communal decisions of the society may pose a threat to the survival of the species.
#Decolonize in Support of Climate Change
The concept of colonization is simply master and subject, it is also the monopoly or oligarchy of power, however in the modern era it can apply to the adverse effects brought about by colonization. These adverse effects would include how our way of thinking is changed and how we have forgotten or lost appreciation of our culture.
As for the situation with climate change, to decolonize simply means for those with power to listen and stop dictating orders to the ones without power. Admittedly, the major contributors to climate change would be the ones in power, and it’s not just those in Government, it also includes those in the business of fossil fuels and mining, they can influence those in power within the Government.
So therefore, we must start listening to the indigenous peoples, those who are actually tilling the land and are directly reliant on the environment, and block all detrimental efforts of those in power who try to seize command and enforce their will to those without power.
Youth Participation in Climate Action
Luis says, “The youth have a huge role to play in the grand scheme of things when it comes to the environment, in that we are the ones going to be affected by climate change and we are going to be the next leaders of society. As such, we the youth should participate by partaking in information dissemination, and proper dialogue with everyone in order to boost understanding, appreciation, and to widen our horizons.”
“We do not need to go and participate in protest, all we need to do is be influencers by using our modern technology in the digital age to get everyone involved. This is a human problem, everyone has to do their part and must do it wholeheartedly regardless of age, religion, nationality, language, gender or anything discriminatory, this isn’t a game at all, this is about your life and mine.”
“We are big fans of personal choice and informed decisions. You need to change the way you think about who you are, what you are doing and what you hope to contribute, concretely, to the planet. It seems pretty meta but that doesn’t mean that you need to go to a mountain and join a Buddhist sect to find the answer. You need to just be really self-aware, this goes in any and every context. You need to identify your bad and good habits and triggers then build around them.”
Yolicia says, “I could buy water in PET bottles but I prefer investing in a great water bottle and carrying it around everywhere. I could buy lots of things that come in plastic packages but instead, I join my mother in waking up early to head to the wet market with a bunch of reusable containers and a tote bag.”
“When we say participate, it shouldn’t mean picking up a gun and pointing it at the enemy or painting a letter on your stomach and marching a protest or even signing a boycott sheet; participating should mean consistent, intentional actions that are planned and well accounted for.”
Maye says, “The youth has so much to contribute. Our generation has strong environmental knowledge that can help the community rise from climate change. We have to learn how to voice out our opinions about what’s really happening in our surroundings and how it’s affecting the people around us. And, as the next generation, we should do something about it. Walk the talk. We shouldn’t just rely on statistics and action plans, we should make it happen.”
“It should also start with every individual. They should be each other’s role model. Educate the younger ones because they also have something to contribute. We should lift each other up because this could lead to great dangers that could affect not just us but also our environment.”
