100 cyclists join “Pedal for People and Planet” in Davao City

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 05 June) — At least a hundred cyclists in Davao City joined the 15-kilometer bike ride Sunday to raise awareness on the climate crisis confronting the globe as a result of activities that destroy the environment, an environmental group said.

Ruel Felices, digital media campaigner of Interface Development Inventions for Sustainability (IDIS), told MindaNews that several cyclists joined the “Pedal for People and Planet” ride that commenced around 5 a.m. at Freedom Park, moving  to Azuela Cove in Lanang, R. Castillo Street in Agdao, Quezon Boulevard in Poblacion District, and back to Freedom Park at Roxas Avenue.

^{At least a hundred cyclists in Davao City joined the 15-kilometer bike ride Sunday to raise awareness on the climate crisis confronting the globe as a result of activities that destroy the environment. Photo courtesy of Sustainable Development Movement}

“Pedal for People and Planet,” was organized in celebration of the “World Environment Day” to urge governments and corporations to save the planet from worsening climate crisis and to “take urgent, bold, ambitious, just, and equitable climate solutions.”

The event was the second since April 24 this year.

Rara Ada, area coordinator for Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), said in a press release issued on Sunday that climate crisis must be urgently addressed as millions of people across the globe will be severely affected by flooding, droughts, heatwaves, and other extreme weather events.

“As climate change is one of the defined issues of the upcoming administration, it is high time to finally put their priority on policies and programs that will ensure environmental sustainability and protection,” she said.

The 15-kilometer bike ride also highlighted other environmental issues in Mindanao and Davao City such as the need for more investments in renewable energy sources, rejection of waste-to-energy projects, more green spaces, watershed protection, preservation of heritage trees, and protection of urban wetlands.

^{Cyclistsi in Davao City join the “Pedal for People and Planet” ride on Sunday, 5 June 2022. Photo courtesy of Sustainable Development Movement}

IDIS executive director Mark Peñalver called on the new set of government leaders, businesses, and stakeholders to “heed the call of the environment.”

“I believe that by working together, we can build a more equitable society that benefits people, the economy, and the environment. We have the opportunity to invest in nature-based solutions that can aid in the mitigation of climate change and make our communities and ecosystems more resilient to its effects,” he said.

He said the government should ensure a fairer, more carbon-neutral, and more environmentally friendly future for all.

He said impacts of climate change are already felt in the country and feared it will wreak havoc on more communities if no drastic measures are taken the by the government and businesses to “undertake deep and immediate emissions reductions, pass and enforce environment-related policies, and employ an ecological approach in their operations to stop global warming on its tracks.”  (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)