Philippine envoy to walk 1,000km in climate change march
An envoy who made headlines with an emotional call for global action on climate change said on Thursday that he will walk 1,000km to a Philippine city devastated by last year’s super typhoon.
Mr Naderev Sano, the Philippines’ lead negotiator at the United Nations climate talks, who went on a hunger strike at last year’s meeting, hopes to start in Manila on Oct 2 and reach the city of Tacloban on Nov 8.
The planned end date for his journey would mark exactly a year since Super Typhoon Haiyan struck, causing the deaths of about 7,300 people.
Mr Sano told AFP: “This climate walk is just one way of elevating my advocacy. I believe it has a big potential to open people’s eyes on the reality of climate change.”
To reach Tacloban, the home city of his father, on schedule, the 40-year-old scuba diver and former triathlete, said he would walk seven hours daily from 5am for 40 straight days.
He will undertake the journey beneath the tropical sun of the country’s traditional wet season, when the majority of at least 20 annual typhoons and large storms hit the country.
Local churches and schools along the route have agreed to provide him beds to sleep on at night, he added.
He said he will be joined by a small core of fellow walkers, while other like-minded individuals and groups would join him for stretches along his southeasterly trek.
Source: AFP
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