APRIL is Earth Day Month.
As Christian nations conclude their solemn observance of Holy Week, I again underscore the enduring call of my late husband, former senator and environment secretary Heherson T. Alvarez, for a profound act of "environmental penitence." He had championed the “Fast for Mother Earth,” a plea for personal sacrifice through the reduction of individual carbon footprints to mitigate the catastrophic impacts of climate change. Today, those impacts are no longer theoretical; they are visible in our deforested landscapes, our dying river systems, and our oceans choked by plastic gyres and oil spills. Serendipitously, our Muslim brethren offer a parallel path of discipline through their practice of abstinence in Ramadan.
Scientific and spiritual crisis
Climate change, which destabilizes the delicate equilibrium of our global ecosystem, is driven primarily by anthropogenic warming. The excessive combustion of fossil fuels — coal, oil, and their derivatives — has saturated our atmosphere with carbon dioxide.
In 1995, while serving as chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment, my husband presented the Manila Declaration in Berlin, Germany, during the inaugural Conference of the Parties, or COP1. His message was a clarion call for the protection of small island-states from catastrophes caused by climate change. He argued that our spiritual observance of Lent must intersect with the environmental milestones of March: the International Day of Forests, World Water Day, and Earth Hour.
"We must practice selfless penitence," he urged, "by minimizing vehicle use, reducing consumption, conserving water, and safeguarding our dwindling natural resources."
Call to conscious consumption
I echo his appeal today: we must extend our fast beyond food and drink to encompass the very "consumables" that fuel industrial degradation. Our reliance on luxury goods, fast fashion and energy-intensive lifestyles must be tempered. A gradual withdrawal from these wasteful habits offers a reprieve to our beleaguered environment.
This is a spiritual contribution toward diminishing the cycle of death, disease and deepening poverty exacerbated by the climate crisis. For an archipelagic nation like the Philippines, rising greenhouse gas emissions do not just represent a temperature shift; they represent an existential threat to our water security and public health.
The vulnerability of the Philippines
The urgency cannot be overstated. A recent HSBC survey ranked the Philippines as the third most vulnerable country in the world to climate change, behind only India and Pakistan.
Despite the Earthsavers Movement initiating the Fast for Mother Earth more than three decades ago, the spiritual dimension of environmental protection has not kept pace with the accelerating ruin of our planet. No continent is exempt from this crisis. I feel a moral compulsion to keep this advocacy alive, reminding the public that protecting our "womb of life" is a grave ethical responsibility.
Resurrection through action
My husband remained convinced that individual sacrifices, underpinned by both scientific rigor and spiritual commitment, could reverse the "agony" of our forests and oceans. This sentiment is mirrored by the late pope Francis and reiterated by his successor Pope Leo XIV labeling the destruction of nature as a "sin of modern times.”
The history of our nation is now marked by the scars of climate change, most notably Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) in November 2013. The increasing frequency and intensity of super typhoons have turned thousands of our citizens into climate refugees. While the Philippines has committed to the 2015 Paris Agreement — pledging a 70-percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 — words on paper are insufficient.
The path forward: Climate justice
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a "code red" for humanity. We must transition to clean energy with unprecedented speed. To breach the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold is to invite armageddon. Our battle cries must remain: Ceasefire and decarbonization of the global economy. Climate Justice for vulnerable nations. Biodiversity and heritage protection.
Imagine if the resources lost to corruption were instead diverted to defusing the ecological time bomb of global warming. Through the dynamic application of science and effective cultural communication, we could yet prevent total catastrophe.
Final plea
We urgently require the political will to enforce environmental laws and the personal discipline to honor them. Regardless of creed, color or social status, we must act in concert as global citizens. To save our ailing Mother Earth is not merely a policy goal; it is a heroic affirmation of life for future generations.
Cecile Guidote-Alvarez is the director of the Earthsavers DREAMS Ensemble; a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Artist for Peace, and founder of the Philippine Educational Theater Association. She is also a Ramon Magsaysay Award laureate and an honoree of The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service. She produces, directs and hosts the multi-awarded DZRH Balintataw program.