Walking the talk

Unbeknownst to the general public, a hardy group has embarked on a 1,000-kilometer walk from Manila to Tacloban City to call attention to one reality: climate change.

The Philippines’ Climate Walk hews to the idea that drew 400,000 people to the streets of New York City last Sept. 23, when the United Nations Climate Summit was held. More than 150 countries saw over 2,000 such events, all of them calling on their respective leaders to take action vis-à-vis the threats posed by climate change.

The group that set out from Rizal Park, “kilometer zero,” in Manila on October 2 is to arrive in Tacloban, “ground zero,” on November 8, the day Supertyphoon “Yolanda” barreled into Central Philippines last year. One of the prime movers is Naderev Saño, lead Filipino climate change negotiator who dramatically called for action at the UN climate change conference in Warsaw that was held about two weeks after Yolanda struck. “It’s time for this madness to end,” he tearfully said then. To get to Tacloban—incidentally the hometown of Saño’s father—the group is walking seven hours a day. “This Climate Walk is just one way of elevating my advocacy. I believe it has a big potential to open people’s eyes to the reality of climate change,” Saño said early this month.

There are 11 “core walkers,” including the group’s overall leader, Nityalila Saulo of the advocacy group Dakila. Bam Azores, 15, is walking on crutches. The route of the odyssey covers Metro Manila, Laguna, Batangas, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, Northern Samar, Samar and Leyte. Early this week the walkers reached their halfway point: Naga City. They intend to hit San Juanico Bridge on Nov. 8, and thence to Tacloban.

According to the account of Inquirer Southern Luzon reporter Maricar Cinco, the walkers carried banners calling for “climate justice” as well as solar-panel suitcases (for charging their mobile phones) as they trekked through San Pablo City in Laguna, facing down unpredictable weather, air pollution, and the congested road network. They visited evacuation sites and bunked down in churches, gymnasiums and schools along the way.

At every way station, the walkers try to raise the local folk’s awareness of the fragile state of the world’s climate and the causes of environmental problems. “Awareness in the Philippines is still far too low,” Saulo said earlier. “When people see us walk with all our streamers, they begin to ask why. And that sparks their interest.”

As the walkers move from town to town, more people join them. “We want to leave a mindset in every town that [the people] can do something, that they can enact policies and programs and empower [other] people so that we can face climate change head-on.” Saño said. “These are the things that can be done. The walk is for unity, a call to the whole nation, without political colors. If we can walk 1,000 km with only the barest minimum needs and survive, it means we can withstand the challenges of climate change and show resiliency.”

The Climate Walk may actually walk on, as organizers have set their sights beyond Tacloban. The conscientious travelers expect to continue their symbolic walk to Cebu, Negros, Panay Island and Palawan, all hit hard by Yolanda. It’s an idea both novel and dramatic—an opportunity to deliver the message to the people that climate change can no longer be denied, and that the Philippines is among the countries hugely vulnerable to it. The terrible numbers in Yolanda’s wake are sufficient proof: death toll soaring beyond 7,000, overall damage upward of P500 billion, damage to agriculture estimated at P31 billion…

All this will hopefully spur our leaders to real action. At last month’s UN summit, US President Barack Obama singled out his country and China as the biggest economies and the worst polluters. They have “a special responsibility to lead,” he said. “That’s what big nations have to do.” Pressure should continue to be put on countries big and small to agree on tangible, substantial steps to battle climate change at the 21st Conference of the Parties on Climate Change in Paris in 2015.

At home, Filipinos are literally walking the talk and taking the issue to city streets and country roads. Listen. That sound you hear is Climate Walk, of Filipinos taking a stand against climate change.