China, India, Brazil and South Africa refused cut their carbon emissions; Philippines suffered disastrous effects

Protesters at the UN's 19th climate change conference in Warsaw. Greenpeace said the outcome meant increased civil disobedience against new coal plants and oil rigs would be needed to prevent catastrophic climate change. Photograph: Kacper Pempel/Reuters Kacper Pempel.

 

Compromise climate deal reached in Warsaw but critics brand it inadequate

 

Countries to indicate their 'contributions' to cutting emissions in early 2015

 

The UN's 19th climate change conference in Warsaw narrowly avoided collapse at the weekend after marathon talks produced a compromise deal that optimists believe is "just enough" to pave the way for an international agreement in Paris in two years' time.

 

Amid scenes of high drama at plenary sessions, two-hour "huddles" involving key players and deep divisions between rich and poor nations, bleary-eyed delegates from more than 190 countries who had been negotiating through the night finally agreed to move the process forward.

 

Although nobody was entirely satisfied with the outcome, it was agreed that all countries would indicate what "contributions" they would make to cut greenhouse gas emissions in advance of the Paris conference, so the adequacy of their efforts could be examined by others.

 

Both the EU and the US pressed for a firm timetable for countries to "place their cards on the table" in order to avoid a repetition in Paris of the chaotic Copenhagen summit in 2009, which was attended by more than 120 heads of state or government – many of them ill-prepared.

 

The Warsaw meeting also agreed to establish a "loss and damage mechanism" to help poorer countries cope with the consequences of global warming, as well as provide "increasing levels" of aid for adaptation and a set of rules to reduce deforestation and degradation of tropical rainforests.

 

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Climate aid

 

At the Copenhagen summit, developed countries pledged to provide climate aid of $100 billion per year after 2020 – 10 times the amount given annually from 2010 to 2012 – but in Warsaw they were not prepared to set an intermediate target showing how this could be achieved.

 

"We have seen essential progress. But let us again be clear that we are witnessing ever more frequent extreme weather events, and the poor and vulnerable are already paying the price," said UN climate chief Christiana Figueres. "Now governments . . . must go back to do their homework."

 

European commissioner for climate action Connie Hedegaard said the Warsaw conference, which ran for two weeks, showed "how challenging the way to an ambitious result in Paris will be". "But the last hours also showed that we are capable of moving forward."

 

One of the sticking points was a renewed insistence by China, India, Brazil and South Africa that only developed countries would have to make commitments to cut their emissions – a position described as "astonishing" by US climate envoy Todd Stern.

 

The EU also insisted that "all countries must contribute to the future reduction efforts", not just those subscribing to the UN's Kyoto Protocol, which now account for only 15 per cent of global emissions. The eventual compromise was to substitute "contributions" for "commitments" in the draft text.

 

Referring to the requirement for all countries to table their contributions well in advance of the Paris conference, if possible by early 2015, Danish environment minister Martin Lidegaard commented: "If we don't do our homework before we meet, then we won't get an agreement when we meet."

 

Jennifer Morgan, director of the Washington-based World Resources Institute's climate and energy programme, said: "Country representatives now need to return home to make significant progress on their work-plans and national offers that can become the backbone of a new climate agreement."

 

But Lord Nicholas Stern, author of the British government's seminal 2006 report on the economics of climate change, said the outcome in Warsaw was "simply inadequate" when compared to the scale and urgency of the risks associated with a failure to curb the growth in emissions – now at record levels.

 

Alden Meyer, veteran observer from the Union of Concerned Scientists, said: "There are some very difficult political issues that will need to be addressed over the next two years if we are going to have a successful outcome."

 

Frustrating

 

Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, vice-chair of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, expressed the hope that Warsaw would not be portrayed as a complete failure "even if, as often, the slow speed of these negotiations is very frustrating, as seen from a climate scientist perspective".

 

But Martin Kaiser, head of the Greenpeace delegation, which was among those who walked out of the conference last Thursday, said the outcome "sends a clear signal that increased civil disobedience against new coal plants and oil rigs is needed to prevent catastrophic climate change".

 

Warsaw deal main points:

 

Emissions

 

Countries agreed to announce plans for curbing greenhouse gas emissions "well in advance" of the crucial summit in Paris in December 2015 and "by the first quarter of 2015 for those in a position to do so".

 

Finance

 

Despite a 2009 promise of $100 billion per year in climate aid for poor countries from 2020, no mid-term target was set. The text merely urges developed countries to provide "increasing levels" of aid.

 

Loss and damage

 

The conference agreed a new "Warsaw International Mechanism" to provide expertise, and possibly aid, to help developing nations cope with losses from extreme events related to climate change.

 

Deforestation

 

Agreement was reached on REDD+, a framework to tackle deforestation in tropical countries, with the new Green Climate Fund playing a key role in channeling finance for projects to protect rainforests.

 

Philippines vulnerable to climate change, consul general says

 

Typhoon survivors seek refuge inside Redemptorist Church in Tacloban on Wednesday, Nov. 20, in Leyte province, central Philippines. (Bullit Marquez/Associated Press)

Speaks of 'extraordinary' typhoon, nation's struggle to become industrialized economy

The consul general for the Philippines in Toronto says her country's economy, devastated by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), has long been held back by the many tropical storms that come ashore every year.

 

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Analysts describe the Philippine economy as newly industrialized, as it transitions from one based on agriculture to one based more on services and manufacturing.

 

But in a CBC interview with Mary Wiens for Metro Morning, Consul General Junever Mahilum-West said it's still a developing country and vulnerable to extreme weather because of geography and climate change.

 

"No one has accounted for the total destruction or loss of life we've experienced through typhoons," she said. "Without these natural disasters, we would be an industrial economy by now; we are an outward-looking economy, but what I'm saying is that we are in a very vulnerable part of the world, and one of the most vulnerable to climate change."

 

The typhoon that struck on Nov. 8 was "extraordinary" even for Filipinos, who are used to these storms, she said. "We had plans, but they were swept away."

 

Close to 20 tropical cyclones or strong storms pound the Philippines in a typical year, with up to half of these making landfalls.

 

The United Nations estimates Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) has affected about 11 million people in 41 provinces. It was one of the most powerful recorded typhoons to hit land, killing about 4,000 people and leaving four million homeless.

 

A Philippine official launched a hunger strike last week to pressure a UN climate change conference to come up with concrete steps to fight global warming.

 

Naderev Sano, a member of the Philippine Climate Change Commission, told the Washington Times he was fasting "in solidarity with my countrymen who are now struggling for food back home" — including his own brother, whom Sano said "has been gathering bodies of the dead with his own two hands."

 

Junever Mahilum-West, responding to criticism that the Philippine national government has been slow to react to the disaster, said it has been difficult to get aid to victims and that first responders were themselves victims.

 

"We have to treat this as a new normal and look at quickness of response and who will respond in case first responders are victimized."

 

She said you also have to consider that some people are living on spillways, the areas where water tends to go. Those are hazardous areas, but because Filipinos are exposed to so many disasters, they won't leave, she said.

 

With report from The Irish Times and CBC News Toronto

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CNN to investigate "EPAL"ation" of VP Binay from foreign aids printing his name; Philippine media and government ignored it

Netizens Photo compared "EPAL 'ation" of Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay compared to the Heartily help from Davao City through Mayor Rudy Duterte

 

Philippine honorable vice President Jejomar Binay garnered dishonor for hi famous infamous act for printing his name to the relief goods from government fund distributed to the victims during the earthquake hit Bohol Province last October 15, 2013.

 

Not proven with more concrete evidence as photos could be edited or photoshop, the issue dragged to the most disastrous typhoon Yolanda when netizens cried foul accusing VP Binay for printing his name to the relief goods aid from Germany.

 

Netizens cried foul for the Bureau of Customs (BOC) holding the relief goods from Germany and demanding taxes for its entry but later then allowed after being lambasted by the pool of netizens criticizing BOC and the Aquino government.

 

The Custom's stoppage for the relief goods from Germany for taxation chained to an accusation that Binay printed his names to those relief goods and photos were submitted to the CNN that collects hundreds of thousands views and criticisms.

 

Online criticism hit Binay calling him as "EPAL".  During the previous years Anti-Epal Law meets resistance from 'epals' in Law makers House according to Inquirer News on 2011.

 

Binay's EPAL"ation" would violate the Article 9 section 1 of the "Anti Epal bill" and if proven guilty would be punishable to not less than 6 months - 1 year imprisonment and perpetual disqualification from public office (Section 8 penalties and violations)

 

Read and download Anti-Epal Bill from this link

 

(Photo from Facebook)

Are Philippine politicians using typhoon aid to their advantage?

 

(CNN) -- As money pours in to help the victims of Super Typhoon "Yolanda" (Haiyan), some Filipinos claim that politicians are trying to use the tragedy to win votes.

 

Six submissions with photographs showing relief trucks and aid bearing the names of local and national politicians have cropped up on CNN iReport. Together, these reports have been viewed more than 1.5 million times since they were uploaded in the past week.

 

While difficult to verify, the pictures show tarpaulins, bags, canisters, flip-flops and even bags of ramen noodles bearing the logos, names and photos of three politicians and the wife of one politician.

 

Local media haven't covered this issue much, but Filipinos have a word for it: "epal," Tagalog for someone butting in where not needed. It could also describe the act of politicians grandstanding for political gain during a disaster.

 

The debate over this has ballooned online among Filipinos and the diaspora. As these images have garnered so much attention, we wanted to clarify what we know about them and what we have left to decipher.

 

The iReport submissions have been shared widely on social media. In a matter of a week, one report had received more than 900,000 page views, and another had more than 500,000 views. The bulk of the traffic -- almost 90% -- is coming from people posting the links on Facebook, and the magnitude is unprecedented for iReport, according to CNN data.

 

Described as one of the worst storms ever to make landfall, Super Typhoon "Yolanda" (Haiyan) killed more than 5,000 people and caused catastrophic damage to many parts of the Philippines as it plowed across the country on November 8.

 

Panoramic photo shows "Yolanda" (Haiyan) devastation

 

Rescue and relief operations have proved daunting, with an estimated 4 million left displaced.

 

How to help Typhoon "Yolanda" (Haiyan) survivors

 

Patrick Fuller, a spokesman for the International Federation of the Red Cross, said he had seen some evidence that politicians were getting involved in the delivery of aid.

 

"I've seen vans or small pickup trucks distributing small-scale aid with a politician's face on the side," he said from the hard-hit city of Tacloban.

 

"We don't need or want to see the politicization of aid. We want the aid to go where it is needed most."

 

See the files for "EPAL" photos and Ati-Epal Law here

 

However, he added that first responders like the ones he witnessed shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. "You've got to remember, they are bringing in relief that is needed, and that keeps people going until the more sustained effort picks up.

 

"It doesn't obstruct us, but we do need to ensure that relief is well-coordinated with local, regional and national authorities. We don't want to load up a truck with supplies for 1,000 families and find that someone else has come in this morning."

 

One of three politicians coming under fire is Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay. Photos posted on iReport show Binay's face on a tarp on the back of a truck and the vice president's logo on blue drawstring bags of relief goods.

 

However, Joey Salgado, a spokesman for Binay, said the photos with blue relief bags and a truck bearing the vice presidential seal were taken in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

 

"The photos are currently being recirculated online to make them appear they were intended for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda," he said Wednesday, using the storm's name in the Philippines.

 

Salgado said the relief bags distributed by his office for "Yolanda" (Haiyan)'s victims were packed in plain white plastic bags, not blue ones like in the photos. The vice presidential office stopped using the tarpaulins with Binay's image more than a year ago, he said.

 

However, a collection of photos submitted to iReport does show white plastic bags bearing Binay's name and logo.

 

"This is how some of the Philippine government officials will behave when there's calamity," a Filipino expat from Dubai named Rogel Tura wrote on CNN iReport. The Cebu, Philippines, native shared a series of photos that have circulated widely online.

 

"They take advantages of 'helping' by putting their names on the relief goods. It's a very strategic way in putting their name on the donations or any forms of assistance to advertise their name for the next election."

 

However, Salgado explained that these labeled relief bags came from a local partner in Iloilo.

 

"These bags were donated by a supporter of the vice president from Iloilo and did not come from the Office of the Vice President," he said. "Relief goods repacked by OVP staff at the vice president's office were placed in plain white plastic bags. Relief goods from the VP's supporter were bundled with those from the OVP and were distributed in Iloilo.

 

"It was the initiative of our local partners to put the stickers on the bags," Salgado said of these photos, which were taken during Binay's visit to Iloilo on November 13. "Since the stickers were placed without the authorization of the OVP, they were ordered removed."

 

Most humanitarian organizations label their aid, according to the World Food Programme.

 

"This is a time-honored practice in humanitarian aid to help draw recognition to those countries providing assistance," said Steve Taravella, senior spokesman for the WFP, based in Washington.

 

"In virtually every emergency, you'll see bags of rice or boxes of cooking oil marked clearly with the name of the country that provided that donation," he said.

 

However, Taravella said, in his experience globally, he had not seen aid labeled with the names or photos of politicians.

 

While the motives behind the labeled aid are unclear, the perception that politicians may be misusing the relief effort for political gain has left a bad taste in some people's mouths.

 

""Yolanda" (Haiyan) victims are dying and suffering for hunger. I can't just watch and do nothing," Tura wrote. "This is my way of helping, telling my fellow Filipinos to wake-up and don't be lured with money and sweet promises during elections."-  CNN

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