California, the great American state of freeways, made a historic turnaround last week with its decision to ban the sale of gas-fed cars by 2035. This is expected to trigger a domino effect on other US states, as well as other countries and will result in the hastened pace of the evolution of non-carbon transport and an environment friendly transport infrastructure.
Meanwhile, a recent survey in our country showed that there are more Filipinos now taking bicycles for transport than gas-fed vehicles, with roughly one out of four households owning a bicycle than an automobile. Both of these are definitely welcome developments that would contribute to help mitigate the effects of climate change. However, while California’s direction is of its own volition, the shift to bicycles in the Philippines is more a function of necessity brought about by the lack of public transport. And the irony of this is while developed countries are in the process of “deconstructing” their infrastructure and transport systems to help the environment, we in the Philippines still cling to the belief that an infrastructure program that maintains gas-fed vehicles will allow us to follow the same path of development that the more developed countries had taken.
The move to “deconstruct” cities of infrastructure as well as transport systems that are dependent on fossil fuel and then build a more environment friendly urban landscape is the growing trend worldwide. Even before the US started doing this, other countries such as China had been on an aggressive direction to a full ban on fossil fuel vehicles by 2030. Cities globally are now on massive redesigning programs with much emphasis on promoting a more sustainable carbon-free environment. City roads are being opened up to more cycling and pedestrian lanes. Pockets of green and breathable space, meanwhile, are eating up what once were streets or parking areas for automobiles. And public transport, even those that still use fossil fuel, lead to these walkable/“bikable” transfer stations that serve as last-mile connections for commuters. That is, “15-minute” communities are taking root in urban areas globally, where most of what you need or what you do—school, businesses, shops, markets, hospitals, government services, etc., you can find within 15 minutes from your abode, thus avoiding the need for long haul transport. Such is the move to deconstruct the old ways to give way to the new paradigm of saving our city environment for future generations.
In the meantime, we in the Philippines remain steadfast in our Build, Build, Build infrastructure orientation. Admittedly, we do need this unprecedented focus on physical buildup, as a vast part of our country remains not connected to the rest. Hence the need for highways, bridges, railways, and ports, which form the bulk of the Build, Build, Build Program. All of these should lead to a more equitable distribution of economic opportunities in the countryside, leading to our country’s overall modernization and development. But modernization needs to factor in transformation as well. As it is, most of these projects—the highways in particular, will still rely on heavy fossil fuel use. Even the rail projects will still, at the very least, allow the proliferation of gas fed vehicles as last mile modes. Yes, we do have now substantial spending on bike lanes, greenways, walkways that saw much resurgence during the pandemic, but it unfortunately remains to be the side dish to our transport menu. Even our local electric vehicle infrastructure remains to be a pipe dream. Meanwhile, other countries are on the opposite direction, deconstructing their policies, programs and present physical transport infrastructures for a cleaner and more sustainable environment.
The organic phenomenon of a surge on bike usage in our country must therefore not go to waste and should, in fact, be noticed and supported by our government. Yes, the Build, Build, Build Program needs to continue, but it should also contain that mindset of “deconstructing” the old “fossil-fuel” milieu and work towards a transformation of helping save our environment. It will be through this “deconstruction” that we will find ourselves truly having the same transport program and infrastructure path as that of the developed world.
The author may be reached at tmo45@georgetown.edu