Sim Tolentino’s (
@sim.tolentino ) mural appeared in Manila yesterday, calling for gas to be left in the past. Sim’s message goes out to the leaders of Southeast Asian nations meeting this week for the
@asean Summit.
The meeting is being held during an energy crisis that is hitting the Philippines hard. The Philippines was the first country to declare a national energy emergency.
Fossil fuels are at the root of the energy crisis caused by US/Israeli aggression on Iran and across the region. The crisis has had the largest impact on Asia. Yet ASEAN leaders continue down a dangerous path toward gas expansion by following Japan’s lead.
Leaders of Southeast Asian Nations are meeting this week in Cebu, Philippines, for the
@asean summit. The Philippines is among the hardest-hit by the energy crisis, having been the first country to declare a national energy emergency. It is against this landscape that artist Sim Tolentino’s mural holds significance, calling for gas to be left in the past
Just last week, former Japanese Prime Minister
@fumio_kishida visited the Philippines, stopping by an LNG terminal in Batangas to promote the Asia Zero Emission Community or AZEC, a Japan-led platform for the region, which - despite its name - promotes fossil fuels, including gas and LNG.
Prime Minister
@takaichi_sanae completed a trip to Vietnam and Australia, where LNG and gas-fired electricity cooperation are key areas of cooperation. This all follows Japan’s announcement to put USD 10 billion towards crude oil and “diversifying energy sources” like LNG and biofuels in Asia.
But civil society groups in the Philippines, Australia, and across the region have been calling out these fossil-fueled lobby trips by Japanese leaders. As Sim’s mural says, “Leave Gas in the PAST, Grow the FUTURE!”
Read more here: /media/media-releases/civil-society-to-takaichi-stop-using-the-hormuz-energy-crisis-to-increase-asias-fossil-fuel-dependency/
(photo credits: Nina Enriquez, Isabella Brown, Leo Bild)
