March 09, 2021 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
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EconomyClimate change commission starts review of energy policy covering coal-fired plantsPosted on June 17, 2016 THE Climate Change Commission (CCC) has given itself six months or until the end of the year to craft an energy development framework that would include harmonizing the policies and regulations of government agencies covering new and existing coal-fired power plants.
In a statement, the commission said it had started on June 16 the “task of reviewing the government’s energy policy that is expected to reshape the country’s power development plans and replace coal with renewable sources of energy.”
The move is an offshoot of a resolution issued by the commission in May, in which it urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Energy (DoE) to “initiate and coordinate discussions” over coal power plants to arrive at a low carbon development plan for the energy sector. “A comprehensive review of the government’s energy policy involves a whole-of-nation approach to achieve a low-carbon development pathway and national goals and targets for climate change mitigation and adaptation, disaster risk reduction and sustainable development,” the commission said. Between now and 2019, a number of coal-fired power plants are expected to start operating in the country’s main island groups, the biggest concentration of which will be in Mindanao, which has long suffered from rotating power interruptions because of inadequate power supply. Secretary Emmanuel De Guzman, vice-chairman of the commission, said his agency “strongly believes” that “transitioning away from coal is a cost-effective path to a low-carbon economy for the Philippines.” He said the policy review was crucial in fulfilling the country’s commitments under the Paris climate accord to keep global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. “With time running out to address climate change and prevent the worst effects of rising temperatures, countries must act fast and more decisively to cut down their respective greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in order to keep global temperature rise to below 1.5ºC,” Mr. De Guzman said at the launch of the national energy policy review at the Kalayaan Hall in Malacañang. The commission, which is under the Office of the President, is the government’s lead policy-making body “mandated to coordinate, monitor and evaluate state programs and ensure mainstreaming of climate change in national, local and sectoral development plans toward a climate-resilient and climate-smart Philippines.” The DENR, DoE and the National Economic and Development Authority were also called on to participate in the review. “One sure way to defuse the ‘ticking time bomb’ of global warming is to shift away from fossil fuels to renewable energy,” Mr. De Guzman said, adding that this was the main thrust of the resolution issued by the commission and “signed by no less than the President.” He said that the commission would facilitiate at least three meetings of its advisory board, serving as steering committee, as well as “three sub-national business summits; 10 roundtable discussions; and 10 technical working group meetings throughout the six months of the policy review process.” The Philippines pledged a conditional 70% reduction in GHG emissionsby 2030 relative to a business-as-usual scenario for 2000-2030, which it said would come from the energy, transport, waster, forestry and industry sectors. As a member of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the country supported the adoption of the Paris Agreement at the 21st Conference of the Parties in Paris, France in December 2015. -- Victor V. Saulon |
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