Muslims and Catholics are finding common ground in protesting against the further development of the coal industry in the Philippines. The South China Sea nation has now become one of the fronts in the liberal left’s mixing of global climate change ideology and religious belief.
Purple Romero of Reuters reports:
The Muslim cleric from the city of Batangas walked up to Archbishop Ramon Arguelles and held out his hand. “I am Imam Abdul Karim,” he said, introducing himself. “I want to join you in your fight against coal.”
Arguelles, a prominent Catholic figure from the neighboring city of Lipa, smiled and firmly shook Karim’s hand.
Earlier this month, the two men met at the launch of the Piglas Batangas! Piglas Pilipinas! (Break Free Batangas! Break Free Philippines!) campaign, when thousands of people gathered to protest as part of a global movement against fossil fuels.
But while crowds in other countries blockaded and shut down coal plants, Karim and Arguelles are aiming for a more peaceful – and potentially powerful – means of uniting people against coal: religious faith.
The Philippines already has 17 operating coal plants and Department of Energy has approved 29 more, all due to go online by 2020. By then, according to consultancy firm IHS, coal will make up 56 percent of the country’s energy mix.
But in a country where religious faith is strong, activists believe the one thing as powerful as the Philippines’ dependence on coal is its willingness to listen to its religious leaders.
Out of a population of 102 million, almost 75 percent of Filipinos are Catholics and another 10 percent belong to different Christian denominations. Five percent of Filipinos are Muslim.
Using the common language of faith, the country’s religious leaders are trying to build a movement against the construction of the new coal plants.
The day of the Break Free protest, Arguelles held a mass before an estimated 10,000 people and reminded them of what Pope Francis had said about the environment, when he asked Catholics to embrace an “ecological conversion.”
“This is the command of God. We should take care of his creation,” Arguelles said.
That same afternoon, Karim spoke to the faithful in his mosque about Allah’s message on environmental conservation.
“Protect Mother Nature. Nature is the source of life,” Karim said. “That’s what we are taught as Muslims.”
STRADDLING THE DIVIDE
As is the case in so many countries, the Philippines’ stance on climate change is rife with contradictions.
At last year’s Paris negotiations, which reached a new global agreement to deal with climate change, outgoing President Benigno Aquino III asked for drastic efforts to reduce carbon emissions, making the plea on behalf of the Philippines and other nations that are most vulnerable to extreme weather and other effects of climate change.
Barely a month later, he attended the inauguration of a 300-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Davao city.
In the run-up to the conference, the Philippines declared it would cut its emissions 70 percent by 2030. But on March 20, presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte lambasted the UN’s call for developing countries to stop using coal as “hypocritical.”
Even Batangas province itself mirrors the paradox: It is host to a coal-fired power plant and a 63 MW solar farm.
But the Philippines can’t afford to straddle the divide, activists warn.
While the country’s emission levels are low, accounting for only 0.3 percent of global emissions as of 2010, if all the proposed coal plants are built the country will have trouble meeting its emission reduction goal, according to Climate Action Tracker, an analysis of global efforts to reduce climate change.
And as global temperatures continue to rise, the Philippines finds itself on the frontline of the extreme weather events that often come with climate change.
In 2013, the country was hit by typhoon Haiyan, which killed at least 6,000 people, and droughts are causing farmers to go hungry in the southern region of Mindanao.
Coal also has a more immediate adverse effect on people’s health, experts say. A 2016 report by Greenpeace and other non-governmental organizations warned that allowing additional coal plants to operate in the Philippines could more than double the annual number of premature deaths due to exposure to toxic pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide.
PROMISES AND PANELS
Religious leaders say prayers, however, won’t be enough to wean the Philippines from coal.
Arguelles has asked local leaders to sign a covenant stating they will prioritize environmental protection when making decisions on behalf of the people.
One of his biggest challenges is engaging newly elected Governor Hermilando Mandanas, who has said he remains open to approving coal-fired power plants in Batangas as long as they meet requirements for lower emissions levels.
In Quezon province, Father Raul Enriquez said churches must first and foremost stop accepting donations from companies engaged in extractive industries. Some parishes take money from coal and mining companies, he said, and “other convents were built on money that came from power plants.”
In his parish in Agdangan, Enriquez, who is a member of the Philippines Against Dirty Energy Resources group, led the construction of the Luminous Grace Sanctuary, which is powered by a solar generator.
He sees other priests installing solar panels on their churches, giving him hope that the message is getting through.
“Yes to God, No to Coal!” Enriquez said. “That should be our battle cry.”
(Reporting by Purple Romero; editing by Jumana Farouky and Laurie Goering :; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, women’s rights, trafficking and property rights. Visit http://ift.tt/24xQg1a)
THE CHRISTIAN FAITH AND CLIMATE CHANGE
It is interesting to note how the phrase “climate change” is replacing “global warming” as the catch phrase of environmentalism. Some scientists/climatologists are certain that human activity, primarily greenhouse gas emissions, is impacting the environment. What they are not certain about is precisely what the impact will be. A couple of decades ago, “global cooling” was the fear, with warnings of a new ice age being the primary scare tactic. While most scientists/climatologists today believe that global warming is the primary risk, uncertainty has led to “climate change” being used as a less specific warning. Essentially, the climate change message is this: greenhouse gas emissions are damaging the environment, and, while we are not certain what the effect will be, we know it will be bad.
Climatologists, ecologists, geologists, etc., are unanimous in recognizing that the earth has gone through significant temperature/climate changes in the past. Despite the fact that these climate changes were obviously not caused by human activity, many of these same scientists are convinced that human activity is the primary cause of climate change today. Why? There seem to be three primary motivations.
First, some truly and fully believe the greenhouse gas emissions are causing climate change. They honestly examine the data and come to that conclusion. Second, some hold to the climate change mindset with an almost religious fervor. Many within the environmentalist movement are so obsessed with protecting “Mother Earth” that they will use any argument to accomplish that goal, no matter how biased and unbalanced it is. Third, some promote the climate change mentality for financial gain. Some of the strongest proponents of climate change legislation are those who stand to have the greatest financial gain from “green” laws and technologies. Before the climate change mindset is accepted, it should be recognized that not everyone who promotes climate change is doing so from an informed foundation and pure motives.
How, then, should a Christian view climate change? We should view it skeptically and critically, but at the same time honestly and respectfully. Most importantly, though, Christians should look at climate change biblically. What does the Bible say about climate change? Not much. Likely the closest biblical examples of what could be considered climate change would be the end times disasters prophesied in Revelation 6–18. Yet these prophecies have nothing to do with greenhouse gas emissions; rather, they are the result of the wrath of God, pouring out justice on an increasingly wicked world. Also, a Christian must remember that God is in control and that this world is not our home. God will one day erase this current universe (2 Peter 3:7-12) and replace it with the New Heavens and New Earth (Revelation 21–22). How much effort should be made “saving” a planet that God is eventually going to obliterate and replace with a planet so amazing and wonderful that the current earth pales in comparison?
Is there anything wrong with going green? No, of course not. Is trying to reduce your carbon footprint a good thing? Probably so. Are solar panels, wind mills, and other renewable energy sources worth pursuing? Of course. Are any of these things to be the primary focus of followers of Jesus Christ? Absolutely not! As Christians, our focus should be proclaiming the truth of the gospel, the message that has the power to save souls. Saving the planet is not within our power or responsibility. Climate change may or may not be real, and may or may not be human-caused. What we can know for certain is that God is good and sovereign, and that Planet Earth will be our habitat for as long as God desires it to be. Psalm 46:2-3, “Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”
Additional content provided by GotQuestions.org
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