Greetings of solidarity to all the brave climate activists joining this day’s Global Climate Strike. We are from the Youth Cluster of The Climate Reality Project Philippines, and it is an honor to join everyone in amplifying the call to prioritize people, not profit!

Last February 28, scientists worldwide once again sounded the alarm on climate change with the release of the contributions of IPCC Working Group II to the 6th Assessment Report. Their message is clear, and it has been for decades: the climate crisis is here, and we’re already experiencing worsening impacts.

Especially for us in the Global South. Women, children, Indigenous peoples, farmers, fisherfolk, and other most affected people and areas are disproportionately affected by climate change. As the report highlighted, these same groups of people who suffer the brunt of this crisis also have the least capacity to adapt to its impacts—a sad, disheartening reality.

Meanwhile, those who have caused this crisis and who continuously fuel it—namely fossil fuel conglomerates, countries in the Global North, and other carbon polluters—move with intentional lack of urgency, acting as if nothing is wrong, or worse, painting themselves green and posing as climate messiahs by promoting false solutions such as carbon capture technologies. They have no plan to abandon dirty fossil fuels because short-term financial gains are more valuable than the lives of the most vulnerable: in short, profit over people.

That’s why we say, with our concerted voice: ENOUGH.

ENOUGH of them escaping responsibilities. 

ENOUGH of them disregarding the lives of billions of people.

ENOUGH of leaders who will not fight for us in the face of this crisis.

We—the billions of people—have no time left. We need to take power back into our hands and demand accountability from those who profit from destroying our home and our lives—especially in the Philippines, these coming elections, we have the opportunity to vote for climate; to vote for planet; to vote for us.

Let’s all work together for a world where the lives of people are and always will be paramount.  

Power to the people! People over profit!