19 ever recorded and this year is poised to join that list. The repercussions are serious, and further decline of the Arctic sea ice can spiral towards fatal consequences. It is clear that the human footprint has profoundly altered the planet in ways that we never imagined. The trend is blatantly clear; the Arctic ice is disappearing before our eyes, and our generation might be the last one to see the Arctic frozen, as it should be. As I stood on the top of the world, I felt an overwhelming sense of foreboding. As the Arctic melts, the consequences to the whole world will be catastrophic. Coming from a country ravaged by increasingly intense typhoons, going to the Arctic is like connecting the dots – the very clear and bold dots – of climate change. Saving the Arctic means saving the planet. Saving the Arctic means preventing catastrophic impacts the world over. What is even more vexatious about the plight of the planet is that the very cause of climate change and the melting of the Arctic – fossil fuels – is enticing a mad rush for more exploration as more of the Arctic Ocean is exposed to easier resource exploitation and shipments of coal that would ply the northern route. This is a madness of fatal proportions. We can stop the madness. Saving the Arctic will require tremendous effort and the challenge will be difficult. It will mean world leaders must keep their eyes on the ice. It will require a massive planetary awakening from a deep slumber. It means looking away from fossil fuels and it will demand a rapid transition to a clear energy future and vigorously pursuing the goal of 100% renewables by 2050. Saving the Arctic means saving the planet. Saving the Arctic means preventing catastrophic impacts the world over. As my country is worth fighting for in the face of devastating storms, the Arctic is worth fighting for in the face of reckless greed. Why this Petition in 2015? When a group of environmental activists and faith communities decided to embark on a 1500 km, 60-day pilgrimage from Rome to Paris, culminating at the COP21 climate talks in 2015, the urgency I felt wasn’t just scientific or political, it was also very personal. After so many failed negotiations, this was our chance to make a strong statement that world leaders needed to hear: we need action on climate change and we need it now. Today, I have just returned from another 1500 km, 65-day walk from Rome to Katowice, carrying a more heightened sense of urgency. These global pilgrimages actually reach further back to November 2013. As a Climate Change Commissioner for the Philippines then, I made an impassioned speech in front of thousands of dignitaries from 195 countries at the UN Climate Summit in Warsaw, Poland.