Solar panels installed to aid Surigao Del Norte #OdettePH operations

Greenpeace installs solar panels at the Incident Command Post for Surigao Del Norte’s Odette operations — Staff can charge more laptops, radio, phone, and other devices to aid their reporting and monitoring of Typhoon Odette. [photo credit: Jilson Tiu | Greenpeace]

Surigao Del Norte’s Incident Command Post for Typhoon Odette (int’l name: Rai) operations now have an additional stable supply of electricity, as Greenpeace on Wednesday (Dec. 22) installed solar panels that will allow staff to charge more laptops, radio, phones, and other devices necessary for reporting and monitoring.

Greenpeace installs solar panels at the Incident Command Post for Surigao Del Norte’s Odette operations — Staff can charge more laptops, radio, phone, and other devices to aid their reporting and monitoring of Typhoon Odette. [photo credit: Jilson Tiu | Greenpeace]

Greenpeace said solar power is an alternative to the dirty, inflexible fossil fuel sources that are lacking in supply in the area. In the long-term, Greenpeace hopes the country will expedite its transition to renewable energy as part of a national climate emergency declaration, as fossil fuels are one of the biggest contributors to the worsening climate crisis.

Greenpeace installs solar panels at the Incident Command Post for Surigao Del Norte’s Odette operations — Staff can charge more laptops, radio, phone, and other devices to aid their reporting and monitoring of Typhoon Odette. [photo credit: Jilson Tiu | Greenpeace]

“The declaration of a climate emergency is the utmost important solution that can be done to address the climate injustice that has happened in the Philippines constantly,” Greenpeace campaigner Khevin Yu, who is currently deployed in Surigao del Norte, said. “We have been experiencing regular climate impacts similar to this typhoon, and this is not the first time — this will not be the last as well.”

Residents in Brgy. San Juan, Surigao City suffer a great deal from losing their homes and utilities, such as electricity and water, in the aftermath of Typhoon Odette. [photo credit: Jilson Tiu | Greenpeace