Journos attend climate change seminar

PALAWAN – Over a dozen members of the Philippine media attended the two-day seminar on climate change organized by the United States Embassy in Manila.

(Photos by Janice Fedak)

The 14^th annual media seminar dubbed “Our Shared Future: Reporting on and Addressing the Climate Crisis” was held in Puerto Princesa City and attended by 19 media members from different outlets in the country. 

Those who participated in the seminar were Redempto Anda, Palawan News; Francis Allan Angelo, Daily Guardian; Vivian Bautista, Repetek; April Bravo, Philippine Information Agency; Gaea Cabico, PhilSTAR.com; Amalia Cabusao, Mindanao Times; Lucelle Casilao, Davao Today; Ted Cordero, GMA News Online; Cong Corrales, Mindanao Gold Star Daily; Maritess Fernandez, The Mindanao Examiner Regional Newspaper; Clarina Guludah, Palawan Daily News; Caecent Magsumbol, The Freeman; Job Manahan, ABS-CBN; Yves Mirasol, Negros Chronicle; Goody Sarsagat, Radyo Pilipinas; Dexter See, Herald Express; Joshua Solano, SunStar Cebu; Romeo Subaldo Jr., Digicast Negros and Alyssa Tan, BusinessWorld. 

They also visited a tribal community in the village called Napsan which was heavily devastated by Super Typhoon Rai in December 2021. 

Among the seminar’s guest speakers were Imelda Abaño, an award-winning environmental journalist and is the founding president of the Philippine Network of Environmental Journalists and currently serves as the Philippines and Pacific Region Senior Coordinator for Internews Earth Journalism Network, an international media development organization. 

Dr. David Cash, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) New England Region. He has spent his career in public service harnessing science, innovative policy and participatory decision-making to solve challenges and seize opportunities at the intersection of environment, economy and equity. He was the Dean of the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston. 

Jhesset Enano, a journalist and educator from Manila. Her reporting sheds light on the climate crisis, biodiversity, and the intersections of environmental changes and challenges with policy, gender and human rights. She has been recognized for her reporting, most recently by the 2022 Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards by the Columbia Journalism Review as a finalist in its Emerging Journalist category. 

Maria Paz Luna, the Chief of Party of USAID INSPIRE. She has been engaged in environmental law and policy practice for over three decades, working for civil society organizations and communities until she joined government in 2016 when she was designated as OIC Undersecretary at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and later Regional Executive Director at the Calabarzon Region until June 2019. She is a Gerry Roxas Leadership Award and a Ten Outstanding Young Men Award recipient in 2004. 

Dr. Richard Muallil, a marine scientist specializing in coastal resource management, marine protected areas, and small-scale fisheries. He is a Professor at the Institute of Oceanography and Environmental Science and Director of the Office of Continuing Education and Extension Services at Mindanao State University- Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography. He was also awarded the most outstanding PhD graduate by the College of Science of the University of the Philippines Diliman. 

And Ryder Rogers who serves as Director of the Environment Office for USAID’s Philippines, Pacific Islands, and Mongolia Mission. He has been a Foreign Service Officer with USAID since 2008, most recently serving as Director of USAID/Central Asia’s Economic Development Office in Almaty, Kazakhstan. From 2016 to 2018, he served in Uzbekistan, leading USAID’s trade facilitation efforts including spearheading USAID’s support for Uzbekistan’s economic reform agenda. Prior to his time in Central Asia, he was the Capacity Building Division Chief in USAID/Washington’s Office of Economic Policy, leading the agency’s efforts on Domestic Resource Mobilization and Public Financial Management. 

Press Attaché Kanishka Gangopadhyay, Ambassador MaryKay Carlson and Deputy Press Attaché Stephen Dove also spoke during the September 22-23 hybrid seminar. 

Officials urged journalists to report on climate change - which refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns - and the devastating effects on the environment and human lives. Since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels which produce heat-trapping gases.

Coal, oil and gas are by far the largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for over 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90% of all carbon dioxide emissions.

As greenhouse gas emissions blanket the Earth, they trap the sun’s heat. This leads to global warming and climate change. The world is now warming faster than at any point in recorded history. Warmer temperatures over time are changing weather patterns and disrupting the usual balance of nature. This poses many risks to human beings and all other forms of life on Earth, according to the United Nations. (Mindanao Examiner)