Members of the Youth Want Candidates to ‘Show Love’ for Climate Justice

The global climate strike led by Greenpeace Philippines calls on public servants hoping to get elected in May 2022

The youth has spoken, calling the attention of government officials: “Show your love for climate justice!”

To cap off the month of March, Filipino youth climate strikers are joining the worldwide movement of climate change advocates in the hopes of getting the national government more involved. These Filipino youth groups, as part of the larger Greenpeace-led LOVE, 52 Youth and Elections Movement, have gathered to call on the 2022 presidential candidates and senatoriables to “protect communities and ensure that the country’s next generation will not experience the worst impacts of the climate crisis.”

In an official release, Greenpeace shared: “The Philippines is one of the most climate vulnerable countries in the world, yet the climate crisis is still not a priority election issue. And even while millions of Filipinos suffer from climate impacts year after year, justice remains elusive for communities that are bearing the brunt of the climate emergency through loss of lives, homes, and livelihoods.” The organization has gone on to point out that only one of the 10 presidential aspirants “staunchly champions this cause.”

“Climate change, especially climate justice, should be an issue for the youth in this election,” says Mark Anthony Yabis of the Better Normal Youth Movement. “We live in a generation where climate change affects our daily lives in different ways, like it or not, as a result of decades of wrongdoings from the biggest polluters and contributors to climate change.”

“As a member of the large population of youth, I will live in a future that has been shaped by others. I get to harvest what they sow, and I have no control whether it is good or terrible. I get to live in that future,” says Angat GenC youth Victoria Emmanuel Angeles. “[Members of the] youth don’t want to live in a society that is influenced by a magnitude of suffering, or in a world that is unconcerned with the welfare of individuals and their environment. Development and sustainability do not happen overnight; unless we act today, it will be difficult to hope for a bright future.”

In addition, the campaign brings together youth groups KalikaSan Pablo from Laguna, Treebuk Project from Bukidnon, Kool Kids of Kali from Samar, and more, as well as national groups like the Better Normal Youth Movement, Angat GenC and YACAP in a letter writing campaign to local and national candidates. These “love letters” are a way for the youth to directly relay to these public servants, as they will be delivered directly to them, their desire for climate action.

The bigger picture for Greenpeace Philippines is that the 2022 candidates stand up for climate justice by “acknowledging how the burden of climate impacts are borne by those least responsible for the climate crisis; and calling on big polluters—fossil fuel companies and developed nations—to be accountable for their role in fueling the emergency, and to fulfill their obligations to those who are impacted.”

You yourself can join the #Love52 movement. Call for change and sign the love letter here.