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Dear kabayan,
As we bake under the scorching summer heat in the Philippines, power reserves are expected to thin as demand rises. So will our electricity bill, due in large part to our dependence on expensive imported diesel, oil and coal.
The country may have shut its door on new coal power proposals, but research shows that the rate at which it is phasing out the dirty fuel is still far from what is needed to meet climate goals. Large banks that continue to fund coal are not helping the cause.
Shifting faster to clean energy would help, says a McKinsey study. In fact, Southeast Asia will be able to unlock up to US$200 billion worth of revenue in manufacturing renewable energy technology. Solar is identified as especially promising.
This month, the Philippines will also be a party to the series of loss and damage talks that are ongoing. Anticipation is high that the typhoon-prone archipelago will be able to play a key strategic role. Our report looks at how civil society representatives and climate justice observers not being at the negotiation table will put the fund, which should be designed to help vulnerable countries recover from climate disasters, at risk of being watered down. |
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Hannah Alcoseba Fernandez
Chief correspondent, Philippines
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Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines have cancelled almost 13GW of coal projects in 2022, but this is far from what is needed to phase out the fossil fuel over the next two decades, a new report from Global Energy Monitor has revealed.  |
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Metrobank is the country's biggest financier of coal projects, found a new report by Withdraw from Coal. BDO and BPI scored for “weak coal divestment policy”, even if their gas portfolio exceeds coal as they pivot from the fossil fuel. |
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This is equivalent to up to six million jobs that could be created in the region by 2050, said McKinsey’s Vaibhav Dua in a presentation at an Asian Development Bank symposium in Bali, Indonesia. |
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Previous climate fund meetings had unlimited seats for civil society, but climate justice observers were no longer able to directly participate at the first global session aimed at fleshing out details for financing for poor countries. |
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The conservationist and Eco-Business Youth A-List winner says it takes a village to defend Masungi Georeserve’s fragile ecosystem. |
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Video footage appears to show protestors being dragged away by police near Ipilan Nickel Mine in Brooke’s Point, Palawan. Mining insiders are calling for maximum tolerance in similar standoffs. |
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Talarak Foundation's advocacy for the welfare of five keystone species endemic to the West Visayan faunal region is now showing results. |
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[VIDEO] A coalition of scientists found “widespread economic impacts” for communities in the Philippine province, heightening calls for accountability from the sunken tanker reportedly chartered by a San Miguel Corp subsidiary. |
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Fledgling shutterbug and biodiversity advocate Vinz Pascua has amassed a notable following documenting some of the Philippines' most vibrant and rarest bird species. |
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The environmental watchdog launches its first local group outside of Metro Manila, which aims to protect conservation in the province that is home to coastal resources like mangroves and the endangered Irrawady dolphins. |
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Heat stress
The Department of Education has granted school administrators the authority to suspend face-to-face classes and switch to alternative distance learning as temperatures rise across the country, amid concerns that classroom learning this dry season “may put students' health and well-being at risk.” Earlier this week, the heat index reached a record 43°C at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City, and as high as 48°C and 47°C in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte and Legazpi City, Albay respectively.
Solar haven
The Laguna Lake Development Authority, in cooperation with Philippine-based clean energy developer SunAsia, has begun pilot testing small-scale floating solar photovoltaic (FPV) installations in Laguna Lake, ahead of the launch of a potential 2,000-hectare 1,300-megawatt FPV project in 2024. If approved, the endeavour could see the Philippines’ largest natural lake transition into a renewable energy haven. Electricity produced from the pilot project will go into powering the barangay hall and covered basketball court of San Antonio, Laguna.
Earth Day protests
On Earth Day, advocacy groups in the Philippines took the opportunity and held anti-reclamation and climate justice demonstrations. Campaigners from PAMALAKAYA-Pilipinas, a federation that represents local fisherfolk, picketed San Miguel Corporation’s head office in Mandaluyong, slamming the conglomerate's destructive reclamation projects in Manila Bay. Meanwhile, members of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice marched along Bustillos Street in Sampaloc, Manila, demanding that world leaders declare a global climate emergency. |
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