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Environmental activist organisation Greenpeace has launched an online campaign to rename Typhoon Hagupit after one of the world's 10 big polluters, with 'Typhoon Chevron' leading a Twitter poll.
Typhoon Hagupit has ravaged Tacloban and central Philippines, destroying homes and killing at least three people just one year after the devastating Super Typhoon Haiyan destroyed the city and killed thousands.
Greenpeace Philippines climate justice campaigner Anna Abad said the breadth of research shows climate change is intensifying hurricanes and cyclones, and that the vast majority of climate changing carbon pollution is produced by 90 state-owned and private entities.
"That's the reason why we want to name these companies that are the reason behind climate change and contributing to more intense typhoons in countries like the Philippines," she told the ABC.
The #RenameHagupit campaign began on social media, with people voting on Twitter to rename Typhoon Hagupit after one of the top 10 biggest polluters: oil, coal and gas companies including ExxonMobil, BP and BHP Billiton.
'Typhoon Chevron' is currently leading the Twitter poll.
Chevron tops the list of big polluters, contributing to 3.5 per cent of historic global emissions.
Typhoon names are taken from a World Meteorological Organisation Tropical Cyclone program database contributed to by the countries of the North Pacific and South China Sea.
"We cannot adapt and refuse to adapt to all these typhoons and accept this as the 'new normal' ... we want these big polluters to be responsible and help us to transition to a low carbon future."
Anna Abad, Greenpeace Philippines climate justice campaigner
The Philippines had proposed Hagupit, which means means 'lash'.
But Greenpeace wants to change the system to name all future typhoons after big polluters.
The campaign will also look at legal avenues to hold companies to account.
"What we're trying to do is really beyond compensation, but getting [big polluters] to provide transition to renewable energy, especially for small island states and developing countries like the Philippines that are facing the impacts of climate change," Ms Abad said.
"We cannot adapt and refuse to adapt to all these typhoons and accept this as the new normal which is what they're saying and we want these big polluters to be responsible and transition and help us to transition to a low carbon future."
For the third consecutive year, a storm disaster has hit the Philippines at the same time as global climate negotiations have been held.
In 2012, Typhoon Bopha hit the Philippines during the UN Climate Change Conference in Doha; last year's super Typhoon Haiyan coincided with the Warsaw climate conference and now Hagupit has hit as talks continue in Lima.
"Mother nature is saying we do not negotiate and telling the world leaders to cut their emissions or at least control it," Ms Abad said.
"As their profit increases the cost for countries bearing the brunt of climate change is also increasing and no amount of adaptation will be enough for the future especially if no mitigation is happening, and that's also the reason why we send the message to the climate negotiations happening in Lima.
"We will be making these big polluters pay for their contribution and we will demand redress from their government."
Tetet Nera Lauron from the Philippines delegation at the Lima Climate Conference made a plea to delegates, saying her archipelago nation is more vulnerable to the climate threat than any other.
"I would now like to make this urgent and passionate appeal to all the negotiators here in Lima, if the Philippines is the poster child for climate disasters, we are number one in terms of being the most vulnerable country in 2013 when super Typhoon Haiyan hit, please, let there not be any other climate-related death," she said.
Topics: social-media, environment, storm-disaster, climate-change, pollution, activism-and-lobbying, philippines, asia, peru
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Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1qhVuNy
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