THE American poet Robert Frost wrote “Fire and Ice” describing two ways he sees the world will end.
This New Year showed that both are happening at the same time.
In the southeastern part of Australia in New South Wales, hundreds of bushfires over the past weeks have destroyed nearly 1,000 homes, leaving places with no water and electricity, and hundreds scampering to the water and remained stranded. Australia was a hue of red and black with temperatures reaching 41 degrees Celsius.
Jakarta and nearby cities in Indonesia were submerged in waist deep floods in the heaviest downpour on New Year’s Eve. Reports said this has displaced 30,000 people, cut off electricity and water, and shut off the airport.
The extremes in the calamities show the devastation wrought by climate change.
The wildfire in Australia is blamed on the country’s record long and hottest drought last year, and this is traced to its industrial pollution that contributes to global warming. Australia also relies on voluntary fire rescue so there is no clear system in fighting fires and rescuing victims.
The flooding in Indonesia is reportedly caused by deforestation in the city’s rivers to give to residential and tourism projects. Jakarta is also situated below sea level, and flood control projects have been delayed.
It is said that disasters are human-made, and these two incidents show the impact of industry and “development”, along with lack of climate resiliency and response exacerbates the problems we see now.
Our Philippines must learn from this, aside from learning from our own calamities in the past decade. The lesson from neighboring Indonesia shows how destroying hills and rivers to give way to subdivision and buildings would come back to us in our worse fears.
Let us note this report from the Institute for Economics and Peace that the Philippines is ranked highest among Asia in its vulnerability to climate change. This is because of our exposure to all kinds of calamities, from typhoons to earthquakes to floods. This is also because of the capacities to respond to these calamities.
The reports said that these weaknesses will pose issues on peace. “The effects of climate shocks on factors such as resource scarcity, livelihood security, and displacement can greatly increase the risk of future violent conflict,” the report said.
It’s a new decade but we see what the climate activists have been saying, that the clock is ticking for us to save our families, our land, our cities and our future. Climate activists say the time to act to be responsible and to hold those in power accountable is now.