The dangers of global warming and EV deadlock

By Fr. Shay Cullen

Caring for the earth and the poor, doing good, and opposing evil is living the faith taught by Jesus of Nazareth. Faith without action contradicts the Gospel values, and going to church without having a strong faith is questionable. Living nowadays is a great struggle for millions of people, as droughts and storms destroy crops, damage people’s health, and cause violence to erupt between nations and tribes. Natural disasters and poverty are all too familiar in the Philippines, where millions suffer from the consequences of human-caused climate change.

Those who suffer the most are the poorest of the poor, who now make up 51 percent of Filipino families. This translates to approximately 14 million families. Out of a population of 114 million, 26 to 28 million on average go hungry frequently. That is the real-life situation now, one that is partly caused by climate change, as well as by growing poverty, both urban and rural, due to government and corporate corruption, the extent of which was revealed by the flood control corruption scandal that broke out last year.

Despite this, the rich continue to grow richer. In the Philippines, there are about 15 billionaires; one had recently fallen from grace following allegations of financial wrongdoing. There are many millionaires who have to do much more to alleviate poverty and share their wealth.

In 2015, the late pope Francis issued his far-seeing encyclical “Laudato si’: On Care for Our Common Home.” He urged the world to hear “both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” He criticized our “throwaway culture” and called for an “integral ecology” that links environmental protection with social justice. Francis saw that global warming was a gigantic problem caused by irresponsible human activities that hurt the poor, and was a moral and spiritual challenge more than a political and scientific one.

He said burning fossil fuels to generate electricity caused global warming. This form of generating electricity and fueling transportation has released so much carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane gas into the atmosphere that they have wrapped the world in a blanket of gas. This is like a death shroud. It prevents the heat generated by the sun from escaping to space. This blanket of gas creates a global oven from which there is no escape. We can’t get rid of the CO2 or methane in the atmosphere quickly. We just have to stop adding to it.

If we could immediately turn off the flow of these manmade gases into the atmosphere, the methane would be gone in a few decades, although it would take thousands of years for the CO2 to fully dissipate. But if we do this, there would be an almost immediate end to increasing temperatures. The world’s temperatures would stay at the same level the day we stopped global warming. It would remain there for hundreds of years before significantly cooling down. So the current global temperatures we have now are here to stay, but we have to stop it from rising.

Two years before he passed away, Francis criticized political leaders for failing to stop fossil fuel addiction and turn more quickly to renewable sources of electricity. There is solar, wind and geothermal, among others. He warned that the planet was reaching a “breaking point” from which there would be no return.

It seems that breaking point has almost arrived. Scientific research indicates that, by the end of the century, unless we stop all CO2 emitting from fossil fuels right now, the Earth will become hotter, rising to 2.6 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Many nations have failed to reduce burning fossil fuels, the US and Brazil among them. This year alone, there will be a 1-percent increase in fossil fuel emissions into the atmosphere. Without renewable sources, it would be 2 percent.

In the Philippines, electricity comes from 27 coal plants. Electricity from renewable sources only accounts for about 21 to 22 percent. This comes from geothermal (~8.3 percent to 10 percent), hydropower (~8 percent to 9 percent), solar (~2.2 percent to 3.2 percent), wind (~1.1 percent to 1.2 percent), and biomass (~1.2 percent). Worldwide, the demand for more electricity is growing by 40 percent, and renewables must grow to meet and surpass that and eventually eliminate the fossil fuel industry. This will take decades to achieve.

The government’s policy of transitioning to a pollution-free electric vehicle (EV) transportation system is a joke. In the Philippines, diesel- and gas-burning vehicles released into the atmosphere approximately 37 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2e) in 2023. In Metro Manila alone, out of a population of 15 million, 14 percent — 2.1 million people — suffer from respiratory disease as a result of air pollution.

Even with zero tax on imported parts for EVs and incentives from the government and the European Union, there is no low-cost public utility vehicle (PUV) available. They are not affordable. For example, a diesel-run people-carrier from Foton costs approximately P1.2 million to P1.4 million, including tax, while an electric To-Jo Mandaragit PUV X minibus with the same number of passengers costs P2.7 million, plus a government tax of P324,000 for a whopping total of P3,024,000. This is an impossible cost for any unsubsidized customer.

The government’s Public Transport Modernization Program, instead of promoting low-cost EVs, is supporting the purchase of new “modern” or EU 4 standard diesel vehicles. This is of little help in lowering pollution. The P260,000 subsidy for buying a new diesel vehicle is set to increase to P400,000 this year. A happier diesel auto industry will rejoice.

This government subsidy is only for rich transport fleet cooperatives or corporations. No individual driver, nongovernmental organization, or small business switching to an electric PUV will get any subsidy or discount. Some transportation tycoons from political families will benefit hugely, but many Filipinos would most probably never be able to buy an EV. The system is rigged to favor the rich and against poor drivers. The EV transition policy is paper tissue. The traditional vehicle assembly corporations making “modern” diesel vehicles and their associates in government are winning the game and pocketing taxpayers’ money.