(philstar.com) Updated January 12, 2012 07:02 PM
MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - President Benigno Aquino III today called for increased development and use of renewable energy to reduce the impact of climate change on vulnerable countries like the Philippines.
The President said that government efforts to improve the renewable energy sector is Philippines'contribution to the global endeavor to mitigate the impact of climate change, and expressed hope that "the rest of the world would join us in proactively responding to what is perhaps the most pressing challenge of our age."
"With more emphasis on renewable energy resources, we can even make our own small contribution to addressing the massive problem that is climate change," he said in a speech delivered at the first Philippine BioEnergy Conference.
Aquino said the bioenergy sector has had "some success and provides glimmers of hope for even better years to come."
The President noted that almost 39 percent of the country's energy requirements came from renewable sources such as hydropower, geothermal, solar, wind, and biomass. The government projects the contribution of the biomass sector to increase from 39 megawatts of energy in 2010 to more than 300 megawatts by 2015.
The President said that nine coco biodiesel plants are currently operating in the country with a production capacity of more than 390 million liters as of 2011.
"This means that we are capable of producing about 60 percent more than the local demand at 2 percent blend which provides us with an opportunity to take advantage of the growing worldwide demand for biodiesel and, at the same time, revitalize our ailing coconut industry," he said.
Aquino noted the energy department launched last June the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) which aims to nearly triple the country's renewable energy-based capacity by 2030, and thus shield it "from the whims of the world's oil market" and help reduce carbon emissions that contribute to global warming.
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