An urgent call for ecological conversion, hope in the face of climate emergency

An urgent call for ecological conversion, hope in the face of climate emergency

Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines,.

“We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now; and not only that … we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies”

(Romans 8:22-23).

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

In 1988, we issued a groundbreaking Pastoral Letter on Ecology entitled, “What is Happening to Our Beautiful Land?” In its opening paragraph, we noted, “Our small farmers tell us that their fields are less productive and are becoming sterile. Our fishermen are finding it increasingly difficult to catch fish. Our lands, forests and rivers cry out that they are being eroded, denuded and polluted. As bishops we have tried to listen and respond to their cry. There is an urgency about this issue which calls for widespread education and immediate action…”

Three Decades of Commitment to Ecological Concerns

Since 1988, we have sustained this concern about ecology that runs through our subsequent pastoral teachings. We may recall that in 1998 we collectively expressed in A Statement of Concern on the Mining Act of 1995, highlighting the ill effects of mining operations both on the environment and on the people, particularly indigenous communities. In 2000, we issued Water is Life calling for a concerted effort to address the problem of water insecurity and the urgency to protect our remaining watersheds. In 2003, we issued Celebrating Creation Day and Creation Time to introduce the celebration of Creation Day on September 1st of every year and the observance of Creation Time between September 1 and October 4. In 2008, we issued Upholding the Sanctity of Life (20 years after the CBCP Pastoral Letter ‘What is Happening to our Beautiful Land?’) not only to reaffirm our rejection of irresponsible mining and illegal logging operations but also to crucially include the challenges of global warming and climate change among “the new threats to our environment”. In 2013, we issued a Pastoral Statement on the Recent Earthquake and Typhoon that Devastated the Central Region of the Philippines to express our solidarity with the victims of calamities and to preempt their future recurrence. We also remember that in 2015, we clearly manifested that climate action is an issue of life and justice through the statement entitled Stewards, Not Owners: “Climate change has brought about suffering for nations, communities and peoples. It is that kind of suffering that, in the words of Benedict XVI’s ‘Deus Caritas Est’, ‘cries out for consolation and help’.” (n. 28). When they who are in need cry out, it is not an option to respond. It is an obligation.” In all these statements, we have taken for granted that concern for our environment is an essential dimension of our pastoral ministry.

The Continuing Destruction of Our Common Home

Given the high rate of poverty in the Philippines, the need to manage the environment is paramount. Poverty and environmental degradation mutually reinforce each other. ‘In today’s world, hunger, violence and poverty cannot be understood apart from the changes and degradation affecting the environment.’ Pope Francis’ recognition of this led him to introduce an eighth work of mercy in 2016: ‘care for our common home’. He expressed this in his message for the 2016 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. This new work of mercy, he insisted, should be both corporal and spiritual.

Biodiversity is also a concern that has a direct connection to poverty and development. The poor in the rural areas are directly dependent on biodiverse resources for food, fuel, shelter, medicine and livelihood. This variety of living organisms together with its environment provide critical services that are necessary for survival such as air and water purification, soil conservation, disease control, and reduced vulnerability to disasters such as floods, droughts and landslides. When these resources or their environment are subjected to pressures that exceed their capacity to be resilient or to bounce back to their original state, imbalance in the ecosystem is created, leading to degradation. When situations like these arise, they make lives, especially in the rural areas, more difficult; they also make development efforts more challenging.

Our remaining forests and biodiversity are continually being threatened by extractive mining operations and the building of dams. Respect for God’s creation is disregarded when irresponsible mining practices are allowed to continue. Land and life is desecrated when almost two-thirds of the ancestral domains of indigenous peoples and more than half of protected and key biodiversity areas are directly threatened by mining applications and operations. Despite evidences against 26 mining operations ordered closed or suspended last February 2017, not one mine has stopped extracting because of technical administrative loopholes. Social justice is not served when only the few mining companies, many of which are also owned by political leaders, reap the benefits from mineral extraction. The rural poor remain poor as mining only contributes less than one percent to our GDP, employs less than 0.4% of our labor force and directly threatens agriculture, forestry, watersheds and fisheries resources that are essential for the survival of the rural poor.

Another problem related with mining is the phenomenon of our country’s growing dependence on fossil fuel-based energy, such as coal. There are at least 23 existing coal-fired power plants operating across the country; 28 more may be operational by the year 2020. To support and sustain this dependence, a huge number of coal power plants involved in extensive coal extraction has to be put in place. Thus, coal mining projects have been allowed to increase to 186, including small-scale ones. Worse is, most of these coal projects are located within the vicinity of communities of indigenous Filipinos and are supported by rich ecosystems and biodiversities.

Centuries of emissions from coal have been scientifically proven to be among the lead causes of the current climate degradation. Coal projects also further exacerbate the vulnerability of impoverished host communities in the Philippines already struggling to cope with the effects of the worsening climate. Many coastal and agriculture-reliant communities face the loss of their livelihood because of land conversion and the pollution of resources caused by coal. Health problems also plague such communities due to the toxic substances and heavy metals released into the air and water resources by the mining, transporting, and burning of coal.

The burning of coal and other fossil fuels and the destruction of nature are natural consequences of extractive mining. Needless to say, these industries are pursued primarily for profit accumulation and rarely, if at all, in response to peoples’ needs. This is the root cause of the continuous escalation of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere which, in turn, is causing the climate crisis. The climate crisis has thus far claimed tens of thousands of lives, displaced millions of people, and brought about tragic devastation in many parts of the world. This climate crisis is bound to get much worse in the years ahead.