By Nimfa Estrellado September 5, 2020 Power for People Coalition (P4P) , joined the diocese of Lucena to protest Quezon 's three co...
September 5, 2020
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| Power for People Coalition (P4P) , joined the diocese of Lucena to protest Quezon 's three coal-fired power stations. |
LUCENA CITY - Recently, several environmental activists gathered around the diocese of in Quezon province demanding that the government stop building two new coal-fired power plants to be built by SMC Global Power Holdings and Meralco's Atimonan One Energy (A1E) with a combined coal indicative capacity of 2,400 megawatts ( MW). This is in contrast with climate change mitigation efforts in the region.
The Power for People Coalition (P4P), the nation's largest network of civil society groups, cooperatives, consumer and communities against harmful, dirty, costly electricity, joined the diocese of Lucena to protest Quezon 's three coal-fired power stations.
According Gerry Arances, P4P Coordinator, said that the use of coal is declining globally due to its environmental and investment risks.
“No new coal project must stand in Filipinos’ way to clean and affordable energy for all. (We) stand in solidarity with communities in Quezon Province in their bid to abandon coal and we commit to support this through all means available to us. No new coal project must stand in Filipinos’ way to clean and affordable energy for all,” he said in a statement on Monday, August 31, 2020.
On the other side, Bishop Mel Rey Uy of Lucena issued a resolution, signed by more than 100 members of the clergy, calling for proposals to be scrapped for the planned power plants.
The diocese claims that project cancelation will be a clear rejection of all unsustainable and carbon-intensive practices, not just in Quezon, but nationwide.
“We oppose these coal-fired power plants also because they are entirely inconsistent with the care for our common home so desperately needed today,” the bishop wrote.
He made his statement on Tuesday, September 1, when Christians around the world celebrated World Day of Prayer for the the Care of Creation. The annual celebration begins with the month-long Season of Creation, which ends on October 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, considered the patron saint of ecology by Christians.
"With the country’s growing energy demand, the government has continued to approve new coal-fired plants, raising concerns that “it will add more environmental degradation and health risks to our locality,” Bishop Uy wrote
The province of Quezon currently holds 2,195 MW, or 21 percent of the country's 10,417 MW coal capacity. SMC Global Power Holdings has planned two new coal-fired power plants for the town of Pagbilao. Meralco is planning to install another plant on Atimonan town.
“We appeal to the local and national government and their respective agencies to listen to the cry of the people of Quezon and disallow these projects and any further coal plants in our beloved province.” the clergy of Lucena wrote.
“Already, the people of Quezon have suffered respiratory and skin diseases associated with toxic coal plant emissions,” Bishop Uy stressed out.
“They have been robbed of their land, their livelihood, and their rights from pollution, development aggression, and exclusion from decision-making processes.” he added.
The diocese urged the project supporters to put their energies and money into improving Quezon's renewable energy sources rather than “outdated, profit-oriented and polluting power plants”.
Municipalities in Lucena Diocese already have an installed coal capacity of at least 1,644 MW. The proposed projects would triple this with an additional 3,330 MW of coal.
Coal consumption has declined globally in recent years due to its contributions to climate change, harmful effects on the atmosphere and threats to investment.
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines has released a number of pastoral letters on environmental issues over the last 3 decades.
However, climate-vulnerable Philippines has kept expanding its coal fleet.
On July 16 , 2019, ecological conversion urged Church groups to listen to the cry of the Earth and the vulnerable, and work collectively to alleviate the ill effects of climate change.
P4P, along with the Church in Quezon and community members, protested in earlier November 2019 against the Atimonan coal plant with the government's Department of Environment and Natural Resources ( DENR) for its failure to comply with environmental and community education requirements.
The letter highlights concerns the country faces, such as reckless mining, dam building, and the dependency on fossil-fuel - based resources, such as coal and to dis-invest their financial capital from "dirty fuels" such as "coal power plants, mining firms and other harmful extractive ventures."
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