Philippine Rep Makes Plea for ‘Global Solidarity’ to Fight ‘Climate Madness’

The climate crisis is "madness" and environmentally vulnerable nations such as the Philippines do not have time for failed climate negotiations, Philippines climate negotiator Naderev "Yeb" Sano told the delegation at the 19th United Nations...

November 11, 2013 | Source: Common Dreams | by Lauren McCauley

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The climate crisis is “madness” and environmentally vulnerable nations such as the Philippines do not have time for failed climate negotiations, Philippines climate negotiator Naderev “Yeb” Sano told the delegation at the 19th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP19) Monday as he vowed to go on hunger strike until “clear progress is made.”

Sano, the Philippine Climate Change Commissioner, delivered his address during the opening session of the 12-day climate talks in Warsaw, Poland three days after Typhoon Haiyan made landfall, wreaking havoc across his island nation.

“What my country is going through as a result of this extreme climate event is madness. The climate crisis is madness,” Sano told the assembly, describing the massive devastation and thousands feared dead following Typhoon Haiyan, the “strongest in modern recorded history.”

“We can stop this madness. Right here in Warsaw,” he added, appealing to the representatives of nearly 200 countries who assembled in a bid to reach a new agreement to replace the Kyoto protocol that expired last year. Many anticipate the talks will only amount to a 2015 agreement for new limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

“Typhoons such as Haiyan and its impacts represent a sobering reminder to the international community that we cannot afford to delay climate action,” Sano continued.

His comments Monday echoed those made during last year’s UN climate conference in Doha, Qatar when Sano-pointing to both Hurricane Sandy and Typhoon Bopha as “clear examples” of climate change-demanded a call for urgency in the climate debate.