Podcast: UNGA Decoded #5 – Marinel Sumook Ubaldo on climate loss and hope

Listen to "Marinel Sumook Ubaldo on climate loss and hope" on Spreaker.

Marinel Sumook Ubaldo has channeled her firsthand experience of a climate-related disaster into youth advocacy. Working with the nonprofit Living Laudato Si' Philippines, Ubaldo is fighting for the rights of those with the most to lose from a warming planet.

A Filipino climate activist, Ubaldo helped organize the first youth climate strike in her country in 2019 and continues to lobby governments worldwide on environmental issues.

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TRANSCRIPT

Michael Igoe

Welcome to “UNGA Decoded.” I'm Michael Igoe, Senior Reporter at Devex. For the next couple of weeks, my colleagues and I are going to bring you inside the biggest global development gathering of the year. Skip the travel, the traffic, and the security lines, and join us for candid conversations with people at the leading edge of global development, global health, and humanitarian assistance. This is “UNGA Decoded.”

Marinel Sumook Ubaldo

Being part of the solution means speaking up and being assertive with our rights, and that right is our right to a safe environment, our right to life, our right to development, and all of those human rights.

Michael Igoe

Marinel Sumook Ubaldo was 16 when Typhoon Haiyan — known as Yolanda in the Philippines — destroyed her family’s home, their village, and ultimately killed more than 6,000 people in her country. That experience of witnessing firsthand the devastation of a storm charged by climate change — and a sense of obligation to those more than 6,000 people who could no longer speak for themselves — set Marinel on a path of climate advocacy.

My colleague Kate Warren spoke to Marinel about how she carries that heavy weight of experience to the privileged spaces of international summits and policy negotiations like the U.N. General Assembly’s high-level week — where the voices of those most affected by climate change are still not always listened to and heard.

Kate Warren

Marinel, thank you so much for joining us.

Marinel Sumook Ubaldo

Thank you too for having me.

Kate Warren

So, is this your first CGI UNGA week?

Marinel Sumook Ubaldo

Yes, this is my first CGI participation. But this is my second week, during the Climate Week, for climate week.

Kate Warren

And what are you — what are you doing here? What are the conversations you are having? What are you hoping to accomplish?

Marinel Sumook Ubaldo

I'm really hoping that all the commitments that we will have here at CGI will be translated more into action in the grassroots communities. I feel like these spaces should have been more inclusive, that there are more voices coming from the developing countries and marginalized communities. And I am seeing just a few representation, unfortunately, and I'm very glad that I am here. But also, there are a lot of stories out there, and a lot of people out there who could have been part of the discussion in these kind of spaces. But I feel like this is not more inclusive. I feel like a lot of people here are actually CEOs of big companies, which they can actually, which makes sense because they can actually pay the registration fee. But how about if I am just, you know, an ordinary citizen, I'm not invited to be a speaker, but I have a heart and a passion for climate justice. And I really want to make a change, and I'm already doing something in my community, but I don't have the money to be part of these kind of spaces? How can I be part of the dialogue, if I don't have the economic opportunity? So I'm really, I'm really looking forward at how they will make these spaces more inclusive to people and more inclusive to the youth, not just to a few.

Kate Warren

And so you were actually on stage here with Hillary Clinton yesterday, and talking about your personal experience. And I believe you mentioned how most of the impact of climate is felt by countries like yours and the Philippines even though you're a very, very minor contributor. I know you had a stat maybe you can throw out to remind me of the percentage. But you have actually had personal impact from this. And I think it was Typhoon Yolanda and 2013 in the Philippines really impacted your community. Can you talk a little bit about that experience and how that has led you to be here and to be advocating for youth, for climate, and for countries like yours?

Marinel Sumook Ubaldo

Yeah, I started in 2012. I was training to be a child facilitator. At that time, I was thinking that, you know, climate change advocacy is not really, like, something that we're talking about in the community. So I felt that it was so interesting for me because then we could be prepared for what's coming in 50 years, in 100 years, we were referring to that as if it will be coming in 50 years. So we were already educating the communities, going into remote schools, and talking about the basics of climate change and what we can do to adapt and mitigate its effects. And then Super Typhoon Haiyan happened in 2013. At that point, I know that there is something wrong, this is the strongest typhoon ever recorded. My father was then a 59-year-old man, he said that it was the first time that he ever experienced that kind of monstrous typhoon. It killed more than 10,000 people in our province, it destroyed thousands of houses including my own, and it affected 14 million people across 44 provinces in our area. And it's just that I have seen like dead bodies, I have seen — it was my near-death experience. And I guess, being here, representing the voices of those who cannot be here and who are, who are not here anymore, because they were not fortunate to live — I guess it is already my moral responsibility to share those stories. And I am glad I'm given a platform. But also, as I always say, there's more stories out there. So seeing how my community responded, seeing how my community struggled, it’s kind of driven me to do more because I don't want to experience another super typhoon and I felt that we could have done better, more in responses and in preparation. So we lobbied with our government, we signed petitions, even to our the Commission on Human Rights in the Philippines, to make sure that those who are responsible for this type of crisis will be accountable, will be held accountable — because it is really important because we're not just victims, we can also be part of the solution. But being part of the solution means speaking up and being assertive with our rights and that right is our right to a safe environment, our right to life, our right to development, and all of those human rights.

Kate Warren

For a lot of the international organizations that are here, international NGOs, people working with U.N. or even USAID and funding agencies, a lot of them are operating or working in the Philippines. What would you say to them on how they can work with communities like yours better, how you can become a better part of the solutions? What advice would you give to them?

Marinel Sumook Ubaldo 

I guess for international non-governmental organizations or any international organization working in developing countries, I would say that when you respond to disasters, I guess it is better not to bring in expats. I would really say that we need more economic opportunities for the locals. And during disasters, there are a lot of abuses happening. And that is between expats and the people there. And we don't want to intimidate more the locals. And when we go to the communities, we don't just tell them that this is our program. And this is the things that we will be doing in your communities without even getting the opinions, without even doing consultation with the community. I would appreciate if before they go to the community, they would have a preliminary meeting with the key leaders in the community. That is kind of courtesy to the communities, that hey, we are not here as, like, your heroes. We are here to facilitate change. But it will be your lead. And we are just here to help you. Because a lot of our organizations — though, I really appreciate the goals and the vision of the organizations going to the communities, but with the steps that they're taking in reaching that vision, we're losing sight of what's really important in the community, what are the things needed in the communities by themselves. And in that process, we forget that the community should be there sitting, during during the planning, during the implementation, and even post-implementation of projects.

Kate Warren

Yeah, so a lot of people in our community have been talking about decolonization of aid. Localization is a term often used just meaning shifting more decision making resources directly to local communities. So how do you think about those conversations and the work that you're doing, the work that you're doing within your community, and why that is so important?

Marinel Sumook Ubaldo 

I mean, like, just making sure that the local, the local people are part of the discussion is already a big thing. Because, as myself, I have been a beneficiary of so many aids already from disaster aid and everything. And I felt that I am just part of the conversation if they're getting testimonials from the locals. And I guess, for us to make sure that we are creating an impact, the local people should have the sense of ownership to the project that you're implementing in the communities, and that when you go out of the community, you're actually assured that the projects that you started will stay in the community and it will be community-led. And I guess just being part of the baselining is very, very crucial. But our participation in the project implementation does not end in the baselining. It should end after everything, the post-project implementation. So I always appreciate when my fellow men are included in decision-making processes, especially on issues that affect them.

Kate Warren

So you don't want to just be a photo with a quote and a brochure.

Marinel Sumook Ubaldo 

Yes, and be sent to donors.

Kate Warren

Well, so we're leading up to COP 27. There's been a lot of talk about it actually being held in the global south, the African continent this year, the importance of including low- and middle-income countries in the conversation, in the solutions, should be front and center. There's some debate about whether or not that will come to fruition. But as we look ahead to COP 27, what do you hope to see come out of that? And what conversations would you want to be part of?

Marinel Sumook Ubaldo 

I'm really keen to see how they will institutionalize funding for loss and damage. They could have done that even before, and they promised at COP 26 that they will talk about it and COP 27. More than ever, we need funding for loss and damage, we already — some of the countries, some of the places already reached the hard limit adaptation, we cannot adapt anymore, we're just losing lives, we're just losing livelihoods, we're just losing our communities, we cannot adapt anymore if we can even have food on our table. And we need reparation to the countries that are bearing the brunt of a disaster we didn't even cause, of climate change we didn't even cause. And I just feel so, I just, I feel really sad for the communities and even my own community is now sinking, because of the inaction of our leaders. And I know climate solution does not come with, you know, conferences. It is after the conference, what we do after the conference. And I am just really, I am hoping that we will have more outcome that is really community-friendly, and that all the things they will be talking in COP 27 will be translated to the community efforts. Because we can’t just meet every year and then communities don't even know what are the things that we are talking about in this kind of conferences and if it's even for them, or if they have even access to the opportunities there.

Kate Warren

Well, what gives you hope?

Marinel Sumook Ubaldo 

I guess what gives me hope is my fellow youth, I mean, they have been doing so many amazing things. And what gives me hope is the thought that there are spaces like this one that are given to the marginalized groups to put our stories out there, that people still believe in the kindness of humanity, people still believe that we can still do something collectively. And I just hope that — I also said this during the panel yesterday — I hope, spaces like this are events, are things that I needed when I was younger. That would give me hope, that would give me optimism, positive vibe that we will having a better world in the future.

Kate Warren

Well, thank you so much, Marinel, and we hope for that too.

Michael Igoe

Thanks for listening to “UNGA Decoded.” We'll be bringing you more interviews from the U.N. General Assembly throughout the next week. If you enjoyed today's episode, please do share it with friends, family, and colleagues. And you can also leave us a rating or a review on Apple podcasts. If you've been to UNGA and have some thoughts, or if you just want to share some feedback on this episode, we'd love to hear from you. You can find us on social media @devex and @AlterIgoe.