June 16, 2016 9:48 pm by JAMES KONSTANTIN GALVEZ, REPORTER
The Philippine
government on Thursday launched a review of the country’s energy policy in an
effort to reshape power development plans and replace coal with renewable
sources of energy.
In accordance with
Commission Resolution No.2016-001 it issued last month, the Climate Change
Commission (CCC), together with key government agencies, was given six months
or until the end of the year to conduct a national review and craft a
development framework for energy.
CCC is under the
Office of the President and is the lead climate policy-making body of the
government. It is 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.
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.
CCC Vice Chairman
Secretary Emmanuel de Guzman said the policy review is vital to fulfilling the
country’s commitments under the Paris climate agreement 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 faster and more decisively to cut down their
respective greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in order to keep global temperature
rise to below 1.5C,” de Guzman said at the launch of the National Energy Policy
Review held at the Kalayaan Hall in Malacañang.
“One sure way to
defuse the ‘ticking time bomb’ of global warming is to shift away from fossil
fuels to renewable energy (RE), which is the main thrust of the most recent
resolution issued by the Climate Change Commission and signed by no less than
the President,” he added.
The CCC resolution
calls for the development of a clear policy on coal-fired power plants, which
are the biggest sources of man-made carbon emissions, accounting for about 35
percent of global GHG emissions.
Aside from the CCC,
other agencies called to participate in the energy policy review are the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of Energy, and
the National Economic and Development Authority.
De Guzman said the
CCC strongly believes that “transitioning away from coal is a cost-effective
path to a low-carbon economy for the Philippines.”
Meetings planned
To ensure the success
of the undertaking, de Guzman said the CCC would facilitate at least three
meetings of the CCC Advisory Board, serving as Steering Committee; three
sub-national business summits; 10 roundtable discussions; and 10 technical
working group meetings throughout the six months of the policy review process.
He said the CCC and
other key government agencies aim to develop concrete measures that will lay
the groundwork for clearer procedures to move the Philippines away from coal,
and speed up the development of RE like solar, wind, geothermal and
hydroelectric.
“Our worthy task will
allow us to fulfill our responsibilities, as public servants, to serve and
protect our people from this global threat, and will inspire us, as human
beings, with greater capability to sustain humanity,” de Guzman stressed.
De Guzman said that
while the Philippines is not a major emitter of GHG, it cannot allow its
economy to grow with the ways that triggers the climate crisis, which affects
the country and other vulnerable nations.
“Let us send a
message to the world that if a small country like ours could make a big
difference, what more can be achieved with economic superpowers doing their
share to ensure a low-emission and climate-resilient future,” he pointed out.
“We cannot let humanity
live in a world fraught with dangers to life and well-being,” he added.
The CCC official said
that bending the global warming curve to below 1.5C is a moral imperative, as
it would result in saving the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of
people, upholding the human rights of the poor and the vulnerable, and ensuring
the integrity of our ecosystems.
“Through a
whole-of-nation approach for our energy policy review, I am confident that
government agencies will work together to harmonize policies and regulations in
accordance with the low carbon development pathway,” de Guzman said.
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