Memorandum for the Petitioners | 98
8.77. Children who lose their parents and older family members in
severely destructive typhoons are thrust into the role of breadwinner for their
younger brothers and sisters. This was the experience of Ms. Honeylyn
Gonzales,433 who lost her parents and elder brothers at the age of 18 due to
tropical storm Sendong (“ Washi” ). Being the remaining elder sibling, she was
forced to “mature” quickly, forgoing her teenage years, and bore the
responsibility of raising her siblings, both of whom were less than 10 years
old at the time.434
8.78. Climate change impacts will make it more difficult for
governments and people to pursue forms of development in which all human
rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized ,435 The economic and
non-economic costs of climate change pose a grave threat to the realization of
sustainable development and self-determination in the Philippines.
r
8.79. The impacts of climate change on a range of economic sectors
and services, such as agriculture, water, fisheries, energy, transportation, and
tourism , will diminish Filipinos’ ability to enjoy, contribute to, and participate
fully in the economic, social, and cultural development of the country, and
will make it more difficult for the government to promote the right to
development and other economic, social, and cultural rights.436
8.80. In addition to damages to human lives and livelihoods, climate
impacts are causing, and will continue to cause, major monetary damages.
Countries like the Philippines experience the brunt of the impacts of climate
change, which pose a serious barrier to sustainable development.437
r
8.81. The Philippines has already suffered major economic losses as a
result of severe typhoons over the past decade, with Haiyan causing
approximately $2 billion in damages.438 As stated in the Joint Summary of the
Amicus Curiae, the “Asian Development Bank estimates that, under a
business-as-usual emissions trajectory, the Philippines will suffer a mean
loss of 2.2% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2100 when market
impacts only (mainly related to agriculture and coastal zones) are
considered, a 5.7% loss if non-market impacts (mainly related to health
Exhibit “IIIIHIir to “IIIIIIIII-4 ” supra note 15; also see Testimony of Ms. Honeylyn Gonzales, TSN
dated 11 -12 December 2018, pp. 45-59, available at http://chr.gov.ph/ wp-content/uploads/2019/04/NICCTSN-December- I I -to- 12-2018-Metro-Manila-Philippines.pdf (last accessed on 12 September 2019).
433
Id
Joint Summary of the Amicus Curiae, supra note 50, p. 27.
436
Lofts, K., supra note 375, p. 6 .
437
Press Release, World Bank, Philippines: Climate Change a Fundamental Threat to Development (May
23, 2014 ), available at https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-reIease/2014/05/23 /climate-change-afundamental-threat-to-development-world-bank (last accessed 06 September 2019).
438
Joint Summary of the Amicus Curiae, supra note 50, p. 27.
434
435
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