Scientists and advocates nowadays call for the long-term goal of zero carbon by 2050 in order to minimize global warming and in turn, climate change. However, it looks like the Philippines is not going towards this direction that they want. The country is in a dangerous trajectory now that its Department of Energy (DOE) has approved the establishment of 29 more coal-fired power plants, on top of the 17 already existing in the country. This will lead to the country being dependent on coal for the next 30-50 years.

Recently, Dr. Paul Epstein, the Director of Harvard Medical School Center for Health and the Global Environment, and eleven other co-authors have published a study wherein they estimate that the full cost of coal in the United States is at USD 500 billion/year. According to them, “each stage in the life cycle of coal—extraction, transport, processing, and combustion—generates a waste stream and carries multiple hazards for health and the environment. These costs are external to the coal industry and thus are often considered as ‘externalities.’ We estimate that the life cycle effects of coal and the waste stream generated are costing the U.S. public a third to over one-half of a trillion dollars annually. Many of these so-called externalities are, moreover, cumulative. Accounting for the damages conservatively doubles to triples the price of electricity from coal per kWh generated, making wind, solar, and other forms of non fossil fuel power generation, along with investments in efficiency and electricity conservation methods, economically competitive. We focus on Appalachia, though coal is mined in other regions of the United States and is burned throughout the world.”

Another study conducted in the United States found that wind farms alone, built near Cincinnati and Chicago produced USD 210 million in annual health benefits. All these scientific evidences show that it is more cost-effective and pragmatic to phase out fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy. Also, these highlight that health is becoming the main argument nowadays. It is not all about money anymore. One example of this is the billions spent by the Japanese government in phasing out nuclear energy due to the people’s fear over its radiation-induced effects, as experienced from the accident in
Fukushima four years ago.

It is thus disappointing that many are prioritizing economic and political concerns over these environmental and health issues we face nowadays. Given the weak Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) countries have pledged so far for COP21 this December, it looks like solutions should focus outside the COP21 treaty. Some groups from the civil society and business sector are moving faster or beyond it, financing risky investments on renewable energy for example. Gandhi once said, “When the people lead, the leaders will follow.” This was momentously shown by the Filipinos in the EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986, where former President Ferdinand Marcos was thrown out of dictatorial rule without the use of weaponry or violence, just prayers and peaceful demonstration on the streets. Would it be possible for us to unite again in convincing the Philippine government to divest from fossil fuels?