DAVAO CITY: More than 300 bikers from various organizations and groups here joined the Pedal for People and Planet on Sunday, June 4.

The activity, which was also held in major cities across the country and in Asia, aimed to highlight the urgent need for real solutions to the climate crisis, and was timed to coincide with World Environment Day and the holding of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Intersessional Meetings in Bonn, Germany.

The bikers conveyed a strong call for immediate and bold actions to address the gravity of the climate crisis and ramped up the pressure on governments and corporations to take urgent and necessary measures.

The participants demanded the prompt resolution of various environmental challenges in the city and urged local officials to take proactive actions such as rejecting dirty energy, opposing waste-to-energy incineration, investing in true zero-waste solutions, expanding green spaces, building conducive infrastructure for nonmotorized vehicles, and preserving natural resources such as heritage trees, urban wetlands, and watersheds.

Lawyer Mark Peñalver of the green group, Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability-IDIS Inc. emphasized that real climate solutions should encompass various approaches including the adoption of renewable energy, sustainable land management, emissions reduction in transportation, adaptation measures, sustainable consumption, and global collaboration.

“The time for action is now, and we must act decisively and ambitiously to address the urgent challenges posed by the climate crisis,” Peñalver said in a statement.

Rara Ada, campaign coordinator of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, also emphasized the importance of cities like Davao committing to building renewable and clean energy sources.

The coordinated bike actions, initiated by the Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and Development in 2021, seek to draw attention to the severity of the climate crisis and advocate for ambitious and equitable climate solutions.