Residents and clean energy advocates in Quezon staged a fluvial protest Friday as a symbolic action against the continued operation and expansion of coal-fired power plants in the province, citing the detrimental impacts of the fossil fuel on local livelihood, environment, and the health of residents.
The effort was made as part of the National Day of Action Against Coal led by broad energy and climate advocacy networks Power for People Coalition (P4P) and Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), in which communities and grassroots organizations join together to demand a cancellation of coal projects in the pipeline, especially of those that have failed to secure official Department of Energy endorsements as of yet, and eventual decommissioning of existing ones through the coal moratorium declared by the DoE at the end of October.
“We have long suffered the presence of coal power plants in the name of progress. But we do not benefit from these plants. All we got are sick residents, a ruined environment, and higher risks of destructive typhoons,” said Fr. Warren Puno, convenor of Quezon-wide environmental group Quezon for Environment and director of the Ministry of Ecology of the Diocese of Lucena.
The province, which was recently devastated by typhoons “Quinta,” “Rolly,” and “Ulysses,” is currently home to three operating coal-fired power plants with an installed capacity of 2.2 gigawatts. With 3.6 GW more of coal in the pipeline, residents lament that Quezon is quickly turning into the country’s “coal capital” while being extremely vulnerable to fossil fuel-induced climate change.
“Kaming kabataan ng Atimonan ay lumahok sa National Day of Action dahil kinabukasan namin ang nakataya dito. Kami ang mapeperwisyo kung matutuloy ang mga pagtatayo ng coal plant dito sa Atimonan at iba pang bahagi ng Quezon. Hindi pa ba tayo natuto?” said Bianca Opalda, a youth leader from local group Kapakanan.
