T -40 days: loss, damage, and the Philippines’ response to the climate crisis.

Author: Pamela EA

Welcome to On the Road to COP, where we look at the road to COP27 against a backdrop of rising urgency and optimism. In conversation with those on the frontline of the climate justice movement, we will be exploring the roadblocks to advancing climate justice, what is at stake, who is stepping up, and how everyone can join our journey towards a better future.

Here in our fourth instalment, we speak with Jefferson Estela about the climate crisis’ threat on the Philippines, loss and damage, climate reparations, and what he sees on the road ahead as we look towards COP27.

Jefferson Estela is a climate activist, storyteller, and organizer from the Philippines. For the past year, he has been working with his local organization, Youth Strike 4 Climate Philippines, one of the leading youth-led climate movements in the Philippines, pushing for the declaration of a climate emergency in his country through activism, lobbying and storytelling. He is also part of the National Inquiry on Climate Change as a community reviewer, and is the Southeast Asia and Pacific Co-Coordinator for the Loss and Damage Youth Coalition.

Hi Jefferson! Firstly, how are you? What have you been working on lately?

For the past year, I’ve been working with my local organization, Youth Strike 4 Climate Philippines, one of the leading youth-led climate movements in the Philippines, pushing for the declaration of a climate emergency in our country. We’ve been doing advocacy work for the past three years through activism, lobbying, and storytelling. Recently, I’ve been part of the National Inquiry on Climate Change as a community reviewer. The landmark inquiry is an investigation into the corporate responsibility of major polluter companies for the climate crisis.

It was launched by the Philippines Commission on Human Rights (CHR) soon after typhoon survivors and civil society groups filed a complaint before the Commission in September 2015, calling for a probe into the possible human rights violations of the 47 biggest fossil fuel and cement companies ("Carbon Majors") resulting from climate change.

I’ve also been working with the Loss and Damage Youth Coalition as Southeast Asia and Pacific Co-Coordinator. It is a coalition of youth from the Global South and North who have come together to demand action on addressing loss and damage caused by the climate crisis.

Aside from my climate justice work, I'm currently involved in a campaign called Ilog PASIGlahin, which is opposing the construction of the Pasig River Expressway (PAREX) on top of the historic Pasig River and lobbying the Philippine government to abandon car-centric solutions to Metro Manila traffic in favor of people-centered, environmentally friendly, and pedestrian-oriented urban development.

Despite the Philippines’ small part in the worsening climate crisis, the threat to the country is huge. How is your community currently being affected by this?

Jefferson: We’ve all heard and know that my country is one of the most vulnerable nations in the world to the impacts of the climate crisis. We are being hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons per year, which generally destroy crops, homes, and infrastructure in already impoverished areas.

Just last year, Super Typhoon Rai (locally known as Odette), the 15th storm to hit the Philippines and the strongest typhoon of 2021, displaced tens of thousands of families, destroying major economic and social progress during the COVID-19 recovery. In more than seven Philippine provinces, hitting the islands of Visayas and Mindanao has caused a lot of damage to homes, public buildings, electricity, and phone service.

I visited some of the islands that were affected by the tidal flooding and storm surge last August, one of which is Pangapasan Island. Eight months after the storm, some of the mangroves that used to protect them are now dead, and the community is still struggling to cope with the severity of the destruction to the island. This is just one of the many stories of Filipinos who have been affected by the climate crisis.

Under the National Expenditure Program (NEP), the Philippine government plans to allocate a record P453 billion out of its proposed P5.27 trillion budget proposal for next year for projects that will address the worsening impacts of climate change. What are your thoughts on this? Can you tell us more about your perspective on this?

Jefferson: The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) says that when it comes to spending on climate change, big projects that deal with the effects of climate change getting worse will continue to get the most money.

Although the increase in climate-related spending of 21.3 percent is encouraging, the issue of implementation must not be overlooked. Most of the projects that were included in the NEP were proven ineffective, such as the National Greening Program and Flood Management Program, which were flagged by the Commission on Audit. For decades, we have been dealing with poor planning and governance difficulties that are all too well known to Filipinos. Despite the higher budget, we have witnessed several instances of government intervention failing, like the infamous national government’s Manila Bay "beautification" project called Dolomite Beach, an example of a misplaced priority program that does more harm than good.

Regardless of how hard Marcos (our new President, who is the son of the late dictator Marcos Sr., who ushered in an era of political repression and violence, known for killing many activists and plundering vast wealth and resources) or his economic team tried to convince the Filipino people, the country's finances are in crisis. This is the most appropriate time to ensure that the 19th Congress passes a climate change-sensitive and responsive budget for the year 2023. It should include moving to a climate emergency mode of planning, making sure that issues and programs brought before Congress are looked at through the lens of a climate emergency, consulting with a wide range of stakeholders, creating a Climate Change Forum with experts from many fields related to climate change, and making sure that climate finance is only used for climate change projects and is available to qualifying beneficiaries and partner stakeholders.

“ Loss and damage financing will determine the success or failure of the upcoming climate summit in Egypt. The integrity of climate negotiations is uncertain if this issue continues to be unresolved.”

Jefferson Estela

As a Filipino involved in the climate justice movement, living in one of the countries most at risk from the climate crisis, what are you hoping to get out of COP27?

Jefferson: COP27 needs to not just be ambitious, but it also needs to send a signal that we are serious about implementation, and one of the most important components of that will be financing. For developing countries to be able to do well in the future despite the effects of climate change, the amount of money given to help them deal with disasters and their aftermath is fundamentally not enough.

As developing nations like the Philippines are forced to deal with the effects of the climate crisis as we still recover from the last one, wealthy nations will need to provide unequivocal assurances that the necessary finance will be made available and that it will be made available at the magnitude and rate necessary to meet our demands.

What are the roadblocks to these goals? How do you think this can be fixed?

Jefferson: Developed countries have resisted for a very long time an effort to recognize loss and damage because of the liabilities and potential claims for compensation that might emanate from that. We cannot allow rich polluter countries to ignore, undermine, and block this issue anymore.

What wealthy nations must do is take the required first step. To agree that funding to deal with loss and damage is on the table so that COP27 can come up with a meaningful solution to the growing number of people who are suffering from climate-related crises and how they are all linked.

The recent devastating floods in Pakistan, displacing 33 million people, are evidence of the profound inequality and injustice caused by wealthy polluters who have undoubtedly emitted greenhouse gasses and blocked financial aid for those facing the impact of the climate crisis. Loss and damage financing will determine the success or failure of the upcoming climate summit in Egypt. The integrity of climate negotiations is uncertain if this issue continues to be unresolved.

“ We must remember that inequality and injustice continue to increase globally and locally. We must acknowledge that they are all aggravated by one another and created by our profit-driven economy. We must resist and fight back together.”

Jefferson Estela

What are potential or existing obstructions to the advancement of climate action in your country? How can COP27 serve as a space to ensure your country meets its goals?

Jefferson: With the new administration, the government is likely to worsen our plight by contributing to more aggression against our journalists, environmental defenders, and human rights activists. As per reports from Global Witness, the Philippines is already an extremely dangerous country for environmental activists. But they will face a much greater threat now that Marcos-Duterte is leading the Philippines.

This, adding to more atrocities against the environment that have been experienced under the Marcos (1969-1986) and Duterte (2016-2022) regimes, might impede the Philippines' progress when it comes to the climate movement. We need leaders who advocate for climate justice and will denounce climate imperialism.

With these concerns and the upcoming COP27, we still hope that Philippine civil society groups can and will be involved (unlike last year) in the development of demand for climate finance to add more pressure to call for global leadership, multilateralism, cooperation, and solidarity at all levels.

Finally, What brings you optimism on the road to COP27? Both at a local and international level?

Jefferson: The fact that this year's COP is taking place on the African continent provides the ideal opportunity and timing for a new type of COP. We must rethink how COP is being run and negotiated by global leaders. Given that Africa is still recovering from a pandemic and has suffered losses to its economic and development accomplishments, it is important to see this as a COP for development, not just a meeting about the environment

As for my country, to address the impacts of the climate crisis, all sectors must work together. The new administration has a lot to prove in terms of avoiding past mistakes at so many levels and reassessing ways to solve what’s on our plate.

With that being said, we must remember that inequality and injustice continue to increase globally and locally. We must acknowledge that they are all aggravated by one another and created by our profit-driven economy. We must resist and fight back together.

To continue learning about the road to COP27, read our interview with our interview with .Elijah McKenzie-Jackson & Jerome Foster II and Melissa Cáceres.Visit movement building to learn about what other changemakers are doing.

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