Increasing Urgency for Climate Change Action

In the past few weeks, the Philippines once again found itself at the mercy of nature’s raging fury. Typhoon Fung-wong, locally named Uwan, once again devastated lives and communities, following another destructive storm that claimed hundreds of lives, left us underwater, destroyed our homes, and displaced thousands. Each storm seems stronger than the last, and what used to be called “once-in-a-decade” events now happen numerous times a year, and even twice in a month. The message is clear: there is an ever intensifying urgency for climate change action.

It appears that typhoons are now traveling farther and bringing heavier rainfall and stronger winds. Storms that once weakened before landfall now often maintain their full force, resulting in catastrophic flooding and deadly landslides. Human activities have further intensified this destruction: poor waste management clogs waterways and worsens floods; unsustainable construction and infrastructure damage the environment; rising air pollution contributes to climate change; and overconsumption generates excessive waste, compounding the impact of these powerful storms.

Globally, leaders discuss climate change at summits like the Climate Change Conference in Belem, Brazil. Yet for communities in Bicol, Visayas, or Mindanao, it has become a matter of daily survival. The challenge before us is to respond not only with relief goods after every storm, but with long-term commitment to ecological conversion: reducing waste, conserving energy, replanting trees, and advocating for environmental justice.

QUOTATION FOR THE WEEK:

"We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”

— Native American Proverb

FOR OUR WORD OF LIFE:

"The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it."

— Genesis 2:15