During a summit earlier this month at the Green Building Function Hall, located on the Talisay City campus of Carlos Hilado Memorial State College (CHMSC), various environmentalists took aim at the coal industry.

Gerry Arrances, who spoke at the event hosted by an organization called the Group of Environmental Socialists, claimed studies showed humanity has “an estimated span of 11 years” left on earth.

“Anti-coal advocacy must be applied in business sectors and school,” he affirmed.

Meanwhile, David Tan said, “There can be a lot of alternative and environmentally-friendly sources of energy without harming the planet.”

He added, “An individual has the right to demand a clean source of energy which is cheaper than coal.”

The summit, which gathered nearly 70 individuals, was organized in partnership with the Greening CHMSC Task Force, Fraternal Order of Eagles-Bacolod Eagles Club, and the La Consolacion College-Bacolod environmental community.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Statistics Authority recently released a report showing coal extractions were on the rise between 2000 and 2017, which has also resulted in an increase in the country’s coal reserves.

Data from the report noted coal extraction has “increased by almost ninefold,” showing a growth from 1.4 million metric tons in 2000 to 13.3 million metric tons in 2017. The extractions contributed to over 100 million metric tons in coal reserves.

Department of Energy (DOE) officials earlier indicated Negros Occidental is the only major area of the entire Visayas region that will have no reliable inland power source within the next five years.