July 19, 2016 9:31 pm by Voltaire Palaña, Reporter
The Department of
Energy (DOE) will implement an energy policy that meets the specific economic
requirements of the country, the new energy chief said.
“We will chart our own
course in so far as energy is concerned to ensure energy supply security,
considering that developing countries like the Philippines have low carbon
emissions,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said.
President Rodrigo
Duterte’s on Monday said the new administration will not honor the December
2015 Paris agreement on climate change, which the Philippines adopted along
with 200 other countries.
The Paris agreement on
climate change is “blocking the progress of developing countries like the
Philippines” and that the industrialized countries are “dictating the destiny”
of developing ones by requiring them to cut carbon emissions, according to the
President.
“President Duterte is
correct in saying that the country is still in the process of
industrialization. We must therefore use whatever energy resources are
available and affordable for power generation,” Cusi said.
“While we signed the
Paris agreement last year committing ourselves to limit our carbon emissions,
we cannot ignore the fact that our level of economic development at this point
does not allow us to rely completely on renewable energy sources or clean
energy,” he said.
“We need diversified
energy sources to support our growing economy,” Cusi said.
The DOE is formulating
another strategic fuel policy mix to propel the country’s growing economy.
Under the Aquino
administration, the government targeted a fuel mix of 30 percent coal, 30
percent RE, 30 percent natural gas, and 10 percent oil-based power plants.
The mix was aimed at
reducing the country’s dependence on coal.
“We need to build more
baseload power plants while also aggressively pushing for clean energy,” Cusi
said.
The DOE is working with
the National Economic Development Authority, Department of Environment and
Natural Resources, and Climate Change Commission to develop a balanced and
sustainable energy policy framework.
The Philippine Movement
for Climate Justice (PMCJ), the largest climate justice group in the
Philippines, supports Duterte’s stand on the matter.
The Philippines
championed the inclusion of limiting average temperature rise below 1.5
centigrade in the last Paris Conference of Parties.
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