Standing up for climate justice in the Philippines

I started to get involved in climate and environmental activism when I was 15 years old.

I had the opportunity to go around my province and saw how communities living in commune with nature are also being taken care of by Mother Nature. My activism is inspired by this relationship and fueled by everything that I love – clean air and water, communities living in harmony with the planet, and the preservation of the pristine beauty of the Earth.

So, when a coal-fired power plant was introduced in my province, my peers and I organized fellow young people to work with the different sectors in society to campaign against the dirtiest source of energy. We were able to win a ban on coal in our province that also contributed to the national suspension of coal for the entire Philippines months later.

Communities in the Philippines are in the frontline of climate impacts – from deadly heatwaves to devastating typhoons.

Poor and marginalized communities who have long suffered the inequality of this world are now again suffering the most from the climate crisis they did not create.

I am inspired to join and be part of the Make Rich Polluters Pay campaign because I believe that this campaign is correct, just, and necessary for my countrymen and the people of the global majority who are suffering from the impacts of the climate crisis.

Despite our efforts to protect and conserve the environment and our natural resources, these efforts fall short because of the continued destruction of the environment at the global level and the impunity for those who caused it.

I am joining this campaign because climate justice is not only a tagline, but it must be a global aspiration and it will start when the people, institutions, and countries who have caused the climate crisis pay for the damages and help pay to address it.

I am now working to:

• advance a just energy transition that puts communities at the center
• defend Indigenous rights
• challenge false solutions to the climate and environmental crises.

It is important to bring the voices of affected communities to climate discussions, calling for those most responsible for the crisis to take responsibility and help build a fairer future.

Joshua Villalobos is a climate activist from the Philippines, advocating for clean energy, environmental justice and the rights of communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis.